On Monday, Aug. 24, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) announced that it would be awarding nearly $2.5 million in grants from the Alabama Recycling Fund (ARF) to 20 cities, counties, solid waste authorities and other groups across the state to boost recycling efforts.
“ADEM is proud to announce the recipients of recycling grants for next year,” ADEM Director Edward Poolos said in a press release. “They range from small cities, such as Moundville, to one of the largest cities, Birmingham, as well large countywide operations such as the Solid Waste Disposal Authority of Baldwin County.
In 2008, Alabama legislation passed the Solid Waste and Recyclable Materials Management Act (SWRMMA), which imposed a fee of $1 per ton, or $0.25 per cubic yard, for all solid waste disposal from landfills statewide.
“What they have in common is they are taking materials that would otherwise go in landfills, or littered along roads, city streets and even our waterways, and making those materials available for productive reuse,” Poolos said in the press release. “That is preserving our land and water and protecting our environment.”
The act also set a solid waste reduction goal of 25%.
Of the $2,497,602 awarded, Gadsden will receive, $45,000, Southside will receive $38,950 and Rainbow City will receive $117,740.
In the 18 years of the recycling grant program, ADEM has awarded 339 grants totaling more than $39 million to bolster recycling efforts in Alabama.
“These grants are absolutely essential, especially for smaller communities that don’t have large budgets,” Poolos said in the release. “It would be easy for them to skip recycling and just dispose of all the garbage they collect in landfills, which wastes resources. This program incentives them to take that extra step toward the reuse.”
The Alabama Recycling Coalition was one of the recipients of the 2027 recycling grants and will receive $102,500 to assist its work in promoting recycling.
“Working with and assisting the coalition, as well as working with individual cities, counties and waste management authorities, is how we build and sustain recycling programs throughout the state,” Poolos said.
For more information see ALRecycles.org.
