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:

  • Provide at least three composting, reuse, or recycling-based businesses with marketing and business planning assistance to help start, improve or expand operations.
  • Provide ten businesses, schools, and government agencies with hands-on technical assistance to reduce waste through waste audits, access to services, and support to employees and management.
  • Provide two large events (1,000+ people) and eight small events with technical support to make their events zero waste (90% of all waste generated at the festival is recycled or composted).
  • Provide outreach to 21 rural communities through presentations and printed material informing residents about the new free rural recycling drop-off program, hard-to-recycle material collection days, and household hazardous waste disposal.
  • Provide 25 Kindergarten -12th grade classes or programs with education about waste reduction, recycling, composting, and proper waste disposal.
  • Create three lesson plans for K-5 teachers to use to teach their students about illegal dumping, illegal burning, and proper waste disposal.
  • Clean up five illegal dumpsites with volunteers and partner organizations.

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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