Going green gets a boost
By David Esteppe
Lewisburg’s Greenworks Recycling, Inc. was awarded $14,233 to purchase a mid-size pickup truck, rhino lining and a specialized rack for their recycling operation.
Thirty recipients were awarded grants on Tuesday worth $1.8 million through the Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan’s (REAP) Recycling Assistance Grants Program, sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP).
WVDEP Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman presented the 2015 grants during a ceremony at the agency’s headquarters in Kanawha City. Grants were awarded to state solid waste authorities, county commissions, municipalities, private industries and nonprofit organizations to assist them in their recycling efforts.
Funding for the REAP Grants Program is generated through a $1 assessment fee per ton of solid waste disposed of at in-state landfills and is provided by WV Code 22-15A-19 (h) (1).
At the ceremony Huffman discussed the irony involved in how we handle our waste. “We regulate and tax the industry of solid waste to effectively keep refuse disposed of, so that we do not have to see it. Because recycling is still not profitable on a consistent basis, there is the need to offer these grants as assistance to get the same thing done, but in a way that is environmentally friendly,” said Huffman.
After Greenworks Recycling representative David Esteppe dropped the framed award, breaking the glass, he offered to recycle the broken glass. REAP Grant Programs Manager Sandra D. Rogers, said “I have another frame for you; but it is a shame we can’t recycle glass.” Esteppe explained that Greenworks Recycling was able to recycle glass; and may be the only service doing so in West Virginia at the moment.
Esteppe adds, “The materials able to be recycled, and the cost of handling them is always changing; but we keep trying to do the right thing and we stick with it. Having the support of our community, and winning this grant gives our spirit a boost right now.”
Greenworks Recycling, Inc. is a recycling pickup service only. The materials collected are disseminated to area recycling receiving centers. All of the material recycled lessens the amount of refuse ending up in the landfill, and saves solid waste companies, and municipalities the tipping fees involved with simply filling up landfills with what could be recycled instead.
