HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — From Solid Waste Disposal Authority of the City of Huntsville (SWDA):
The Solid Waste Disposal Authority of the City of Huntsville (SWDA) and its curbside recycling program, Recycling Alliance of North Alabama (RANA), in partnership with, the City of Huntsville, Madison County and the City of Madison have been awarded $500,000 in grants by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) from the department’s 2022 Alabama Recycling Fund.
The grants were awarded on Monday, August 9 to Mayor Tommy Battle of the City of Huntsville and Mayor Paul Finley of City of Madison at the Household Hazardous Waste facility. Chairman Dale Strong of Madison County accepted the award at the Madison County Commission meeting on Wednesday, August 18.
This year’s ADEM grant funds, combined with previous grant awards, helped defray nearly 50 percent of the costs associated with the initial purchase of 75,000 95-gallon rolling carts used in the new automated curbside recycling program.
A breakdown of the grant award is as follows:
- City of Huntsville - $200,000
- Madison County - $200,000
- City of Madison - $100,000
“We want to thank ADEM for their continued support of the new RANA program.” said Doc Holladay, Executive Director of SWDA. “Starting a completely new program in a community of this size, required a substantial upfront investment in equipment. The financial assistance provided by the Alabama Recycling Fund was a significant factor in the feasibility of this new program.
Since the inception of the RANA program two years ago, 80,874 households have elected to participate in the curbside recycling program. Holladay added that in the second year of the program, a total of 8,693 tons of recyclables were diverted from the waste stream. This is a testament to the willingness of residents to recycle each month. Thanks to the continued growth of the program and the high participation of residents, the tonnage is 16% higher than the prior year and 43% higher than the last year of the previous bin program. New sign-ups continue to come in and Holladay expects growth to continue in the year to come.
“With these grant awards, we commend RANA and their partners for their tireless efforts to continuously grow and improve Alabama’s recycling efforts,” said Blake Schmidt with the Materials Management Section of the ADEM. “We’d also like to thank RANA for its participation in the Alabama Recycling Fund Grant Program.”
Items accepted in carts include #1 and #2 narrow-neck plastic bottles, aluminum, steel and bi-metal cans, mixed paper and cardboard. A full list of these items can be found here. Used motor oil and batteries are not accepted in the residential curbside program. Residents can recycle or dispose of those items, along with materials such as electronics, paints, acids, bases and corrosives, can be taken to the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility at 1055 A Cleaner Way, Huntsville. HHW is open Monday – Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In closing, Holladay reminded residents to please follow the guidelines on the top of the cart by not bagging items and placing only the listed, acceptable items in the carts. If an item is not listed on the cart lid, it is considered contamination.