Ohio EPA awarding grant money for recycling and litter prevention

Staff report
·2 min read

COLUMBUS —Local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations throughout southeast Ohio will receive more than $600,000 this year in grants from the Ohio EPA to implement recycling, litter prevention, market development, and scrap tire recycling programs.

Statewide, Ohio EPA is issuing more than $7.5 million in grant funding to 159 recipients, with more than $3.8 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.

Local projects approved for funding for the program year 2024 include the Guernsey County Community Development Corporation (CDC) receiving $26,300 for litter cleanup events and tire amnesty events and the Southeastern Ohio Joint Solid Waste Management District receiving $100,000 for recycling equipment.

According to a press release from the CDC the grant money was utilized in past years for the Keep Guernsey County Beautiful Litter Cleanup and Tire Amnesty Program during which 292 volunteers working under the guidance of the CDC cleaned up 6,166 bags of litter, 441.24 tons of illegally dumped material, 53,107 tires, 22 illegal dumpsites and logged a total of 2,561 hours of volunteer work.

This year’s event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 27 and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 28. There will be four collection locations in Guernsey County, with one location being the CDC maintenance shop at 2000 North Ave. in Cambridge. The other three locations will be determined by the CDC and announced at a later date.

Townships and municipalities must participate in the event for residents to utilize the services. Each location will have five litter dumpsters and one tire trailer. Tire disposal will cost $2 a tire for non-commercial tires and $3 for a commercial or farm tire. No paint, chemicals, building materials, brush or appliances with Freon will be accepted.

For more information contact Ron Gombeda at 740-4390-0020 or email rgombeda@guernseycountycdc.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Grant money awarded for local recycling and litter prevention programs