More than 71,000 households have participated in the program in its inaugural year
HUNTSVILLE, AL. – The Solid Waste Disposal Authority of the City of Huntsville (SWDA) and its curbside recycling program, Recycling Alliance of North Alabama (RANA), in partnership with the City of Huntsville, Madison County and the City of Madison have been awarded $500,000 in grants by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) from the department’s 2020 Recycling Fund. The checks were awarded Monday, August 17th.
The ADEM grant funds help defray a portion of the costs associated with the purchase of the 95 gallon rolling carts used in the new automated curbside recycling program.
A breakdown of the grant award is as follows:
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City of Huntsville – $200,000
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Madison County – $200,000
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City of Madison – $100,000
“We want to thank ADEM for their support of the RANA program and helping our curbside recycling program be successful,” said Doc Holladay, Executive Director of SWDA. “We know that the missions of both RANA and ADEM is to strive to provide sustainable options for our residents and be a community who cares about recycling and the environment we live.”
Since the inception of the RANA program one year ago, more than 71,000 households have signed up for the program. The program features 95-gallon rolling carts with lids, which are five times larger than the former curbside recycling bins and are picked up once a month. In July 2020, RANA announced an option to sign up for a second cart for households and more than 5,700 households have signed up and deliveries will begin on August 24.
Holladay added that in the first year of the program, a total of 7,515 tons of recyclables were collected. That number is 26 percent higher than that of the prior year, which shows great progress. In July, 93 percent of residents enrolled in the program participated and hundreds of new customers are joining each month.
“With this grant award, 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 the ADEM. “We’d also like to thank RANA for its participation in the Alabama Recycling Fund Grant Program.”
Items accepted in carts include #1 and #2 narrow-neck plastic bottles, aluminum, steel and bi-metal cans, mixed paper and cardboard. A full list of these items can be found here. Used motor oil and batteries are not accepted in the curbside program. Those items, along with materials such as electronics, paints, acids, bases and corrosives, can be taken to the Household Hazardous Waste facility at 1055 A Cleaner Way, Huntsville. It is open Monday – Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Recycling Alliance of North Alabama (RANA) is an opt-in monthly curbside recycling service funded by the Solid Waste Disposal Authority of the City of Huntsville that was launched in August of 2019. For more information about the program or how to sign up for a cart, please visit www.recycling-alliance.com or call (256) 801-CART. Households can now sign up for a second cart as well.
This project was partially funded by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management through a grant from the Alabama Recycling Fund.
