Dive Brief:

• The Recycling Partnership has announced a grant for 5,000 new residential recycling carts in the city of Athens, OH. 
• The grant also includes technical assistance for an education campaign. Local nonprofit Rural Action is providing staff support.
• This new program aims to make curbside recycling more convenient for residents, particularly in multifamily buildings. Cart distribution will begin in the fall.

Dive Insight:

These carts dovetail well with the Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers new Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) facility. In addition to allowing single-stream recycling, the $2.5 million facility can also accept materials such as electronic equipment, yard waste, light bulbs, and books. The construction of a methane digester adjacent to the facility's composting operation is also being considered.

"We are excited to partner with such a dedicated community," Cody Marshall, the Partnership’s technical assistance director, said in a press release. "This also provides a great opportunity to grow recycling and show successful recovery in a very rural region of the country."

The Recycling Partnership has now worked with more than 100 communities around the country, with recent projects in Memphis and Michigan's Emmet County. According to the nonprofit, it is working on projects that have spurred $21 million of recycling infrastructure for 2.4 million households and plans to deliver more than 300,000 new carts this year.