Greendale, In. — The Indiana Department of Environmental management has released a list of 12 organizations that qualify for a grant to expand recycling operations. The $1 million program is a joint operation with the Recycling Market Development Program that is expected to increase participation and create jobs.
The city of Greendale will receive a grant of $42,346 to implement residential, single-stream recycling and purchase recycling containers. The city expects to handle 860 tons of recycling in 2018.
Other award winners include:
- Bunn Box, Inc., Allen County – $419,698 to expand operations and improve efficiencies in the construction and demolition business. The funding will go toward a new crusher, stationary platform scales and a front-end loader with scales. Projected amounts to be diverted from landfills include: 150,000 tons of concrete, 2,500 tons of rebar, 2,500 tons of metal, 1,000 tons of wood and 480 tons of cardboard.
- Child Adult Resource Services (CARS), Parke County – $17,908 toward equipment for electronic waste (e-waste) demanufacturing. The new equipment will increase the processing capacity of the facility, and allow for expanded outreach and education to the community on the hazards of e-waste and the need to recycle. The company provides workforce training and jobs in recycling services for adults with disabilities.
- City of Valparaiso/Public Works, Porter County – $93,624 for the Go Green Campaign, a project aimed at increasing efficiencies, education and marketing of Valparaiso’s recycling program. This includes purchasing new radio-frequency identification (RFID) recycling containers for the collection of recyclable materials and compost. Also, electronic equipment upgrades for the recycling trucks will be upgraded to improve the collection efficiency and monitoring of materials. Results are estimated to be a 22 percent increase in recycling amounts, equaling 295 tons of solid waste diverted a month.
- City of Winchester, Randolph County – $66,000 toward implementing a curbside recycling project with the purchase of recycling containers for each residential unit. The city will work with the Randolph County Solid Waste Management District and Economic Development Corporation on education campaigns for the pickup of recyclables. The goal is to collect 576 tons of recyclables annually.
- Republic Services Recycling of Indiana Inc., Marion County – $166,355 toward the purchase of a Glass Cleaning Classification System at the material recovery facility. Due to the recycling process (collection and recovery of co-mingled fiber and containers) and the end use market’s requirements, additional cleaning and recovery of glass by screening, air extraction and sizing will be installed. Quality improvement of 30 to 40 percent is expected for the glass stream resulting in a cleaner and more valuable material.
- Metropolitan School District of Shakamak/Greene County SWMD, Greene County – $1,028 toward the purchasing of recycling containers to collect cardboard, paper, plastic, aluminum and steel cans. The school will work with the Greene County Solid Waste Management District, which is providing matching funds and guidance to the project. The organization estimates that 14 yards or more than 1,500 pounds of comingled recyclables will be collected from the bins per week.
- Upland Brewing Company, Inc., Monroe County – $5,344 toward the purchase of a vermicomposting system for processing food and paper waste coming from the Bloomington Brewpub. Upland plans to market and sell the vermicompost, creating a value-added product from solid waste. The plan is to donate a portion of the vermicompost produced to local community garden programs and food banks that operate gardens, and serve as an educational model for on-site restaurant vermicomposting. The company estimates 31,580 pounds of waste will be diverted, equaling five percent reduction in its annual solid waste disposal.
- Vidal Plastics, LLC, Vanderburgh County – $106,000 toward the purchase of an extruder and quality lab to be used for compounding recycled commodity resin, mainly polypropylene and polyethylene. Markets for the recycled content, engineered resins include injection molding of parts to be used in automotive and other industries. The project will divert up to 750,000 pounds of plastic waste from landfills annually.
- Warrick County Recycling & Resource Management District, Warrick County – $76,935 toward purchasing a new feed conveyor and implementing sorting line modifications at its material recovery facility to increase processing capacity. With the improvements, the organization expects to increase its annual output of recyclables from 1,802 tons to 5,406 tons.
- West Central School Corporation, Pulaski County – $1,200 toward the purchase of recycling containers for initiating a drive to recycle all soda and water bottles in the school. The bottle-shaped recycling containers will be placed throughout the school, including public gathering areas, such as the football stadium. The goal is that containers in this shape will be an immediate visual reminder to recycle in main traffic hubs throughout the community, not just the school. The school hopes to collect at least 7,000 bottles the first year.
- Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Vigo County – $3,562 towards the purchase of recycling and compost bins for the school’s Green Team initiative to collect recyclables as well as begin vermicomposting. The goal is to implement improvements to the current program by including the community in the recycling efforts and using café food waste to create compost, usable for school landscaping.
