Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens is proud to announce that the ADEQ is awarding 3 grants totaling $330,000 to the City of Sierra Vista to support recycling in the community.
"Recycling is one of our most effective tools to protect our environment," Director Owens said. "We are glad to support Sierra Vista's efforts to increase recycling in Arizona."
The majority of the new funding, $200,000, will be used to bring about curbside recycling to serve about 10,000 Sierra Vista single-family homes. The program is expected to divert more than 35 tons of recyclable material per month from landfills.
The city also will receive an additional $100,000 to expand the capacity of its material recovery facility (MRF) and purchase a new recyclable baler to handle the anticipated increase of tonnage of recyclable material collected from the new curbside program.
In addition, the city will receive $30,000 to publicize the curbside recycling program & encourage participation. The education campaign will consist of television & radio advertisements, direct mail postcards, flyers & brochures to educate & encourage citizens to participate in the new curbside program & the important effect recycling has on the environment.
These grants are funded by ADEQ's Waste Reduction Assistance program, which is awarded to projects devoted to waste reduction, recycling & composting & the department's Waste Reduction Initiative Through Education program, awarded to projects that educate the citizens of Arizona about waste reduction, recycling & composting.
The grants to Sierra Vista follow-up on a $60,000 grant ADEQ provided last year to study recycling in Cochise County outside of Sierra Vista.
"This study has led the way in making recycling a part of every day life in Cochise County & this project in Sierra Vista adds considerably to that effort," Owens said. "Good things are happening there."