WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown today announced $69,000 in federal funding for recycling efforts in Athens and Hocking Counties. Rural Action Inc. received the award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“Recycling helps preserve our environment for future generations,” said Brown. “This funding will give Rural Action Inc. the opportunity to boost recycling efforts in Athens and Hocking Counties and allow more Ohioans to contribute to the health of their communities.”
The USDA Rural Development funds will be used to help finance Rural Action Inc.’s Athens Hocking Zero Waste Action Plan (ZWAP). Through education and technical assistance, the ZWAP Program will promote and assist recycling efforts in 21 rural communities in Athens and Hocking Counties.
Rural Action is a nonprofit organization striving for economic, social, and environmental justice in Appalachian Ohio. Along with many partners, Rural Action has been working with the community to address recycling and waste challenges through its Zero Waste Program since 2010. The Zero Waste Program promotes the development of a zero waste economy. In a zero waste economy, product development conserves natural resources, product design leads to reuse, repair, recycling or composting, and all discards become assets that benefit the people, the planet and the local economy. Rural Action supports this ideal through general education about recycling and waste reduction, waste assessment of homes and businesses, dumpsite clean-ups, zero waste events, and the implementation of the Athens Hocking Zero Waste Action Plan.
With the funding, Rural Action hopes to:
Brown is the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly 50 years. In 2014, he was part of the Senate Farm Bill Conference Committee that successfully negotiated a five-year farm bill that had been stalled for more than three years. Brown supported a strong Rural Development title in the 2014 Farm Bill to encourage economic development and increased infrastructure investment in rural communities.
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