Indiana’s Recycling Market Development Board awarded six organizations with $2 million in grant funding to expand the state’s recycling economy.
The Recycling Market Development Program was established in the early 1990s to better manage solid waste by developing markets for recycled materials. Six organizations received grant funding totaling $2 million to expand recycling in the Hoosier state. The joint effort represents over $4.8 million in expected total investments that will benefit the environment and the economy. 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).
Below is a list of recipients and their award amounts:
- Frankfort Plastics Inc., Clinton County – $500,000 to purchase a densifying line and eddy current separator to increase the processing capacity of low-grade plastic films in preparation for chemical recycling. This investment will result in approximately 3,300 additional tons of material diverted from landfills per year.
- Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA), Marion County – $181,538 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 percent recycling rate resulting in an estimated 273 tons of recycled materials diverted from landfills per year.
- Waste Management of Indiana LLC, Marion County – $500,000 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.
- Purdue University, Tippecanoe County – $69,080 to purchase a tractor and windrow turner that will expand their composting operation capacity by allowing them to include additional organic materials. The new equipment will allow the university to divert an average of 90 additional tons of organic waste from entering landfills per year.
- Richmond Sanitary District, Wayne County – $249,382 towards the purchase of a compactor and baler to expand its list of recyclable materials to include plastic polypropylene containers (#3-#7) and provide additional curbside recycling services to neighboring communities. In addition, the district will use part of the funds towards an education and outreach campaign to market their services to more communities. The city is expected to increase diversion from landfills by an additional 120 tons in the first year.
- Smith Creek, Floyd County – $500,000 towards de-packaging equipment and site improvements that will allow the company to process packaged food waste from grocery store chains and prepare the organic waste for composting. The project would divert an estimated 15,600 tons of food waste from landfills per year and enhance the quality of the soil amendments and compost produced at their facility.
More information about the RMDP grant program, including future grant opportunities, can be found on IDEM’s website, idem.IN.gov/recycle/recycling-market-development-program.