RANA Curbside Recycling Program Awarded $500,000 Grant
The Huntsville Solid Waste Disposal Authority and its curbside recycling program, Recycling Alliance of North Alabama in partnership with the cities of Huntsville and Madison, and Madison County, have been awarded $500,000 in grants by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The grants were made possible through the agency’s 2022 Alabama Recycling Fund.
From left to right: SWDA Executive Director Doc Holladay, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, and Blake Schmidt and Rick Kelsey of ADEM.
Huntsville and Madison County each received $200,000 and Madison was awarded a $100,000 grant.
“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 ADEM. “We’d also like to thank RANA for its participation in the Alabama Recycling Fund Grant Program.”
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.
From left to right: SWDA Executive Director Doc Holladay, Madison Mayor Paul Finley, and ADEM’s Blake Schmidt and Rick Kelsey.
“We want to thank ADEM for their continued support of the new RANA program,” said SWDA Executive Director Doc Holladay. “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 said that in the second year of the program, 8,693 tons of recyclables were diverted from the waste stream.
From left to right: SWDA Executive Director Doc Holladay, Blake Schmidt of ADEM, and Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong.
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. Holiday said residents continue to sign up and he is expecting the growth to continue.
“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 ADEM. “We’d also like to thank RANA for its participation in the Alabama Recycling Fund Grant Program.”
For more information about the program or to sign up for a cart, visit www.recycling-alliance.com or call (256) 801-CART.
