INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s Recycling Market Development Board awarded six organizations statewide with $2 million in grant funding to expand the state’s recycling economy. Two organizations in Marion County were awarded grants.
The Recycling Market Development Program was established in the early 1990s to better manage solid waste by developing markets for recycled materials. These projects will increase the amount of recycling for organic waste, plastic film, and curbside residential recycling including plastic containers and glass. By doing so, an additional 42,000 tons per year of materials will be reused in Indiana’s circular economy.
Grants are administered by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). Among the grants are:
•Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA), to purchase new dual-stream recycling and trash receptacles to improve recycling participation at the airport. The IAA anticipates the new receptacles will allow them to achieve a 15% recycling rate resulting in an estimated 273 tons of recycled materials diverted from landfills per year.
• Waste Management of Indiana LLC, towards the purchase of glass recycling equipment to recover, clean and divert 23,400 tons of glass per year from their single stream recycling operations. With the new equipment, the company should be able to directly supply clean glass material to Indiana-based manufacturers and end markets.