Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced that recycling programs throughout the state will receive $26 million in recycling grants made available through the state Environmental Protection Fund. The funding will be divided among 92 municipalities and solid waste management authorities to buy trucks and sorting equipment, improve facilities and promote recycling.

“As Governor and Attorney General, I have worked to increase recycling, improve enforcement, and enhance the public’s understanding the importance of reducing the amount of waste we send to landfills and incinerators,” said Governor Spitzer. “This funding will help further all of those goals. It will provide local governments with substantial, on-the-ground assistance to improve their recycling programs.”

Senator Antoine M. Thompson said: “These funds will give communities the opportunity to educate residents about the importance of recycling, and in addition, protect our environment.”

Assemblyman Bob Sweeney, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation said: “Recycling programs have been, and will continue to be, fundamental ways to reduce waste and conserve resources to the benefit of our environment. The importance of New York’s Environmental Protection Fund is once again demonstrated by its support of these recycling programs.”

Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis said: “These grants will help communities across the state enhance their waste reduction operations and increase public awareness of the numerous benefits of recycling. By educating the public about the many ways they can ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle’ during this holiday season and all year long, we can have a lasting impact on improving our environment.”

The recycling grants provide funding for municipal waste reduction, recycling, and composting programs, to assist with costs such as the construction of recycling and composting facilities; the purchase of recycling and composting equipment; waste reduction programs to reduce and prevent waste generation; reuse projects such as materials exchanges; and public outreach campaigns to promote and expand recycling efforts.

DEC’s Municipal Waste Reduction and Recycling grant program provides up to 50 percent reimbursement to local governments for eligible project costs, limited to a maximum state share of $2 million per project. A list of the grant recipients and intended projects follows. All projects are subject to a final eligibility review and final eligible cost approval.

(YWN)