Elk County Electronics Collection
In June 2004, Elk County opened a permanent collection center for
discarded electronics at the Stackpole Complex in St. Mary. The discarded
electronics are collected and sent for recycling to Envirocycle, Inc.
in Hallstead PA. The center is open the third Saturday of each month.
Since the start of the collection, enough electronics have been collected
to fill three tractor-trailers. Over 350 people have brought more than
50,000 pounds of electronics.
Bekki Titchner, the Elk County Recycling Coordinator, attributes the
success of the permanent collection center to "volunteers from
our PA Cleanways office, our solid waste authority and the City of St.
Mary's Recycling Task Force and local industry assisting with equipment
such as fork lifts to help move the material."
If you or your organization is interested in establishing a permanent
electronics collection event please contact Tom
Hyatt , PA DEP.
DEP Hands Out Nearly $100,000 in Grant Money: Study Will Help
Emerging Companies Grow, Enhance Environmental Protections
On behalf of Governor Edward G. Rendell, Environmental Protection
Secretary Kathleen McGinty announced a $99,466 market development grant
to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Philadelphia for a one-year
study to assess supply and demand issues and examine market barriers
and related opportunities for reusing recovered residential building
materials in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The study will serve as a resource for the city of Philadelphia and
other urban areas interested in exploring ways to recover wood and bricks;
architectural salvage such as light fixtures, kitchen cabinets, doors
and moldings; window frames, door frames and flooring; and other building
materials. Expanding the markets for these products will support emerging
deconstruction and reuse companies in the region.
"Many older homes contain quality building materials and valuable
and attractive architectural artifacts that can be reused," Secretary
McGinty said at RESTORE, a business that recycles residential building
materials and offers architectural salvage, deconstruction and design
services. "Finding creative ways to reuse building materials from
older homes will reduce pressure on landfills, provide attractive options
for new homebuyers and help revitalize our urban environment. Replacing
our aging housing stock in older cities and towns is a vital part of
attracting families and investments in home ownership to create stable
neighborhoods."
Finding markets for this recovered residential building material will
help Pennsylvania's environment by keeping such material out of landfills,
and create jobs in firms that recover and sell this material for re-use.
At the same time, demolishing homes can create environmental problems
relating to the disposal of this material, and safety hazards if the
material is not removed quickly from the site. Neighborhood safety will
be enhanced if there is an economic incentive to remove material from
abandoned homes quickly so it can be sold for re-use.
In a pilot project last year, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance
, or ILSR, came up with a strategy for deconstructing two homes and
conducted a demonstration "architectural salvage" of a third
house. The nonprofit organization identified a wide range of salvageable
materials, researched existing markets for them and estimated the recovered
material retail value at $8,000.
ILSR and Penn State's Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance
will disseminate the findings of this study throughout the state to
inform others about opportunities for similar material recovery efforts
in their regions.
"When entrepreneurs, local officials and families are able to
make use of the information produced by this study, Pennsylvania will
establish itself as a national leader in this new area of urban revitalization,"
Secretary McGinty said.
Pennsylvania's recycling industry comprises more than 3,247 recycling
and reuse businesses and organizations that generate more than $18.4
billion in gross annual sales, pay $305 million in taxes and provide
jobs for more than 81,322 employees at an annual payroll of approximately
$2.9 billion.
For more information on recycling in Pennsylvania, visit DEP's Web
site at http://www.dep.state.pa.us,
Keyword: "DEP Recycling."
DEP Awards Nearly $4 Million In Municipal Recycling Performance
Grants: Grants Reward 237 Municipalities Statewide for Recycling
Efforts
On behalf of Governor Edward G. Rendell, Environmental Protection
Secretary Kathleen McGinty announced nearly $4 million in recycling
performance grants to 237 Pennsylvania communities for their recycling
efforts in 2003.
"These grants reward communities for contributing to a Pennsylvania
success story," Secretary McGinty said. "Recycling has become
one of the engines that drives our economy. I encourage local officials
to use this funding to support even stronger municipal recycling programs
that play an important role in cleaning up the environment and making
our communities even stronger."
Pennsylvania's recycling and reuse industry leads the nation in employment,
payroll and sales numbers. More than 3,247 recycling and reuse businesses
and organizations made more than $18.4 billion in gross annual sales,
paid $305 million in taxes and provided jobs for more than 81,322 employees
at an annual payroll of approximately $2.9 billion.
These 237 grants represent the initial group approved from nearly 800
applications that DEP received by the Sept. 30, 2004, filing deadline.
Additional awards will be made as the remaining applications are processed.
For more information on recycling grants, visit DEP's Web site at http://www.dep.state.pa.us,
Keyword: "DEP Recycling."
This
was an amazing and exciting event. Fifty-two people brought in 119 pounds
of unwanted medications - more than 55,000 pills, inhalers, ointments,
and liquids. The project was funded through an EPA Innovative Solid
Waste Grant and with the generous support of CVS, the Franklin County
Solid Waste Management District, and the South Portland, Maine Police
Department. A 
As
you know, Materials Exchanges are excellent opportunities to find a useful
life for materials rather than creating solid waste. We are fortunate
that there are several Materials Exchanges in the Northeast. Some are
non-profit, and others are for-profit. NERC has developed this list
as an informational service to make it easy to identify and access these
organizations. Promoting the environmental and economic benefits of
source reduction is part of NERC's mission, and Materials Exchanges provide
an important source reduction service. This is the most up-to-date comprehensive
listing of Materials Exchanges in the Northeast. We intend to keep it
current and to expand it as appropriate. Materials Exchanges provide
an important public service. We hope that you'll take advantage of them!