Monday, June 1st, 2015
County snags grant for recycling
Funds to help pay for new tractor-trailer
By Jared Mauch
ST. MARYS - An Ohio Environmental Protection Agency grant will help the Auglaize County Solid Waste District improve its recycling program.
The district will use an $84,314 Recycling and Litter Prevention grant to help pay for a $125,000 tractor-trailer for recycling pickup. The district must chip in about $42,000 in matching funds to purchase a 2015 Freightliner tractor-trailer, director Scott Cisco said. The grant funds will be available later this summer.
The new vehicle will replace a 1997 International truck, which will remain as a spare, Cisco said.
The district could have the new truck by the end of this year or in early 2016, Cisco said.
The new, larger, truck should reduce the number of trips the agency must make to and from recycling pickup locations.
"We're trying to create a circuit that will let us just take one trip. Having the new truck will help us cut time," Cisco said.
The district applied for the grant last fall and was notified of the award earlier this year, he said.
The district received about $42,000 in grant funds in 2014. That money helped purchase a Ford F-550 truck used to transport large trash bins.
"You can apply every year but you're not guaranteed anything," Cisco said.
The Ohio EPA awarded about $1.46 million this year through the program.
The program provides financial assistance to communities based on need, the demonstration of positive economic and environmental impacts and the potential for permanent service that does not need assistance from outside funding.
Funds were given to 16 solid waste districts, three counties, four municipalities and nine organizations.
