Central Ohio: Ohio EPA Grants $873,800 for Recycling and Litter Prevention

Recipients from Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, and Morrow counties

Ohio EPA is awarding more than $873,800 this year in grants to 14 local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations throughout central Ohio to implement recycling, litter prevention, market development, and scrap tire recycling programs. Statewide, the Agency is issuing more than $5 million in grant funding to 89 recipients, with $3.2 million specifically for community and litter prevention programs.

Local governments and other entities use these grants for litter collection, education programming, and the disposal of scrap tires through amnesty collection events. All local cleanup efforts involve the work of volunteers and take place on public property. Some of these grants tie into a statewide litter campaign, A Little Litter is a Big Problem, announced by Governor Mike DeWine last year to prioritize and promote the conversation around litter in Ohio.

Projects approved for funding (rounded down to the nearest dollar) include:

Bexley (Franklin County) $15,935 Recycling cart contamination tagging
Columbus (Franklin County) $90,575 Outreach and education materials, clean-up supplies, and Keep America Beautiful renewal
Columbus Recreation and Parks Department (Franklin County) $39,186> Jazz & Rib Fest festival-wide recycling program, replacing plastic beer cups with aluminum cups, and recycling stations
Columbus State Community College (Franklin County) $99,924 Purchase 50 new recycling stations across campus
Delaware (Delaware County) $200,000 Purchase a side loading recycling truck and education/outreach materials
Franklin County Board of Commissioners sponsoring Decker Construction $200,000 Purchase ASTEC Prosizer 3600 portable crushing and screening plant
Franklin County Auditor’s Office $8,000 Paper and electronics community recycling event
Franklin County Municipal Court $12,000 Litter and tire collection events
Grandview Heights (Franklin County) $37,760 Purchase 35-gallon plastic recycling containers
Hero USA (Franklin County) $20,000 Advertising, education and outreach, generator, shipping container, and city permit for litter clean-up event
Keep Ohio Beautiful (Statewide) $80,000 Litter collection and special venues
Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Agency (Fairfield County) $15,000 Tire amnesty events
Licking County Recycling $37,708 Purchase a pick-up truck for recycling events
Morrow County Commissioners $17,741 Outreach and education, Keep America Beautiful renewal

Community and Litter Grants are available to local governments, parks or health departments, state colleges and universities, solid waste authorities, and nonprofit organizations or Keep America Beautiful communities to support and expand community recycling and litter prevention efforts. Market Development Grants assist businesses that purchase equipment and infrastructure for successful markets of recyclable materials and related products. Scrap Tire Grants provide financial assistance to Ohio’s businesses, communities, and nonprofits seeking to convert manufacturing operations into facilities that accept scrap tire material, expand tire processing, or use scrap tire material in construction projects or manufactured products. Academic Institution Grants are available to public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities for recycling efforts as well as outreach and education, recycling equipment, and conference sponsorships.

For additional information about the grant programs, contact Marie Barnett at Ohio EPA at Marie.Barnett@epa.ohio.gov, or online: www.recycleohio.gov.