Pennsylvania Issuing Recycling Grants

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary announced $4.5 million in grants to fund recycling programs in 16 counties.

Twenty-eight grants will establish or augment local curbside and drop-off recycling, yard-waste composting, recycling-facility funding, and community education.

The Commonwealth has 1,400-plus community-based recycling programs, serving 9 million residents. At least 65 percent of those programs are voluntary.

Pennsylvania also has built the nation's largest system of local household recycling programs serving more than 10 million people. Since 1988 household recycling has grown from 167,000 tons a year to more than 2.6 million tons annually.

In addition, since 1997, the winners of the Governor's Environmental Excellence Award eliminated or recycled more than 72 million tons of solid waste.

Money for the 28 grants comes from a $2 recycling fee collected on each ton of waste deposited in Pennsylvania landfills and resource-recovery facilities.

February 2000
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