Recycling Grants To Help Local Businesses Increase Efficiency and Competitiveness
CHICAGO – In his continuing efforts to promote environmentally-friendly ways of growing the North Central Illinois economy, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich announced today more than $370,000 in Opportunity Returns grants that will fund a number of businesses and organizations who are expanding recycling throughout the region. These recycling grant are administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and come as a part of Opportunity Returns, Gov. Blagojevich's pro-active, regional economic development strategy designed to create jobs and spur growth in the North Central region.
“Growing our economy in a way that helps our environment can be accomplished by investing in companies and communities that are expanding the recycling industry in North Central Illinois. By supporting these kinds of innovative programs that are recycling everything from cans to computers, we are lessening the demand on our landfills and creating more jobs for our working families,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
The City of LeRoy will receive a $41,225 grant to assist it in the development of two permanent drop-off recycling sites in the city. The project will be maintained and serviced by city personnel and provide local citizens and businesses a permanent recycling opportunity. Local businesses that participate in the program are expected to be able to reduce their cost of doing business as solid waste disposal costs will be reduced. Recycling in LeRoy is expected to increase from 13.7 tons annually to 144 tons a year once this project is operational. For additional information please contact: LeRoy Mayor Jane Engblom - 309-962-3031
Midland Davis Corporation of Peoria has been awarded a $100,000 grant to purchase equipment essential to the company’s ability to expand its recycling processing capabilities in the North Central/West Central Illinois area. Grant funds will be used to assist with the purchase of a specialized paper sorting system that will allow the company to process additional paper more efficiently. The project is anticipated to annually divert at least 6,000 additional tons of recyclables from being landfilled. For additional information please contact: Joel Erlichman – 309-637-4491
DeWitt County Human Resource Center, a not-for-profit organization located in Clinton, has been selected to receive a $47,801 grant to expand its commercial recycling collection efforts in DeWitt County. Expanded recycling collection services will be made available to local retailers, healthcare facilities and local school districts and includes plans to enrich the Center’s confidential document destruction services. For additional information please contact: Cheryl Lietz - 217-935-2218
The following grants come from a newly established Electronics Recycling Program. The grant program focuses on the development and expansion of permanent collection and processing facilities that handle end-of-life computers and other electronics.
B & K Technology Solutions Inc., located in Pontiac, has received two separate electronics recycling grants totaling $124,605. A $58,424 grant will help create a permanent drop-off site at its facility where area residents and businesses can bring old, obsolete and end-of-life electronics equipment for recycling. In addition, it will offer “on-site” electronics collection services to businesses and organizations in the North Central Illinois area. It was also selected to receive a $66,181 grant to assist in establishing a processing facility to process and recycle electronics equipment and to recover components for resale and reuse in refurbishing computer systems. For additional information please contact: Kenneth D. Ehresman - 815-844-7779
The Town of Normal has been awarded $11,900 to assist with the establishment and operation of a permanent computer and electronic equipment collection site at the town’s Public Works Maintenance Facility. The site will be operated eight hours a day, five days a week. For additional information please contact: Michael Hall - 309-454-9571
Recycling for Illinois Inc., located in Peoria, has been selected to receive a $45,582 grant to expand its electronics collection and processing capabilities. Permanent electronic equipment collection sites will be developed in Peoria to serve Peoria County businesses, residents and schools. Another collection site will be developed in Pekin to serve Tazewell County. Recycling for Illinois, Inc. will also serve as the processor of old, obsolete and end-of-life electronics collected in various programs throughout Illinois, including programs in Adams, Logan, McLean, Fulton, Knox, Hancock, Henderson, Mercer, McDonough, Schuyler and Warren counties. For additional information please contact: Murrel Rhodes - 309-682-0675
“Gov. Blagojevich and I are committed to supporting businesses and organizations that are protecting our environment while creating jobs. Everybody wins by promoting more recycling,” State Senator George Shadid (D-Pekin) said.
“Gov. Blagojevich understands that strategically investing in recycling is both an environmentally and economically sound decision. This is helping to turn would could have become our trash into a reusable commodity that is spurring private investment and putting more and more people to work. These types of progressive partnerships are what Opportunity Returns is all about,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions – each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges. Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses. It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.