FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2000

COLUMBUS, OH – Solid waste management districts located in northwestern, northeastern, northcentral and southeastern Ohio, along with their cooperating businesses, will receive $500,000 in Recycling Market Development Grants from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention. The grants will help the cooperating companies increase the amount of recycled materials used in their manufacturing and processing operations.

"Recycling Market Development Grants help establish partnerships between state and local governments and businesses," said ODNR Director Samuel W. Speck. "These partnerships, in turn, help create long-term markets for many of the materials collected by Ohio’s local recycling programs."

The following is a list of waste management districts and companies that are grant recipients:

The Defiance/Fulton/Paulding/Williams Solid Waste District and Werlor, Inc. received $125,000 to purchase and install recycled glass bottle processing equipment at Werlor’s facility in Defiance County.

The equipment will allow the company to pulverize more than 4,000 tons per year of mixed and broken bottle glass into a sand-like substance for use as backfill in the construction of roads, water and sewer lines, and leech beds. Werlor, Inc. will provide $175,000 in matching funds for the project.

For more information, contact Tim Houck, solid waste district coordinator, at (419) 782-5442.

The Ottawa/Sandusky/Seneca Joint Solid Waste District and Polychem Corporation/Evergreen Plastics, Ltd. have received $125,000 to purchase processing equipment for the Evergreen Plastics facility in Clyde, located in Sandusky County.

The equipment will be used to process plastic bottles into plastic flake. It will increase the company’s current yearly capacity for recycling and processing plastic flake from 16 million pounds to 21 million pounds. Evergreen Plastics, Ltd. provides plastic flake to support the manufacture of plastic strap packaging materials by Polychem Corporation. Polychem will provide $275,000 in matching funds for the project.

For more information, contact Tim Wasserman, joint solid waste district coordinator, at (419) 334-7222.

The Stark/Tuscarawas/Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District and Caraustar Industries/Rittman Paperboard have received $125,000 to purchase and install new conveyors at the company’s Rittman facility in Wayne County.

The new equipment will allow the company to broaden the amount and type of recycled paper fiber it uses to manufacture paperboard packaging for consumer goods such as cereal and medicines. Rittman Paperboard will provide $375,000 in matching funds for the project.

For more information, contact Phillip Palumbo, joint solid waste management district coordinator, at (800) 678-9839.

The SouthEastern Ohio Joint Solid Waste Management District and Mondo Polymer Technologies, Inc. have received $125,000 to purchase and install plastic processing equipment at the company’s Reno facility in Washington County.

With the new equipment in place, the company will expand its recycled-content product line and increase the amount of recycled plastics that it processes. The company makes parts for

Highway guardrail systems and stabilizers for vehicle wheel systems. Mondo Polymer Technologies, Inc. will provide $125,000 in matching funds.

For more information, contact Robert Reiter, SouthEastern district coordinator, at (740) 732-5493.

Since 1994, the ODNR Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention has awarded more than $3.6 million in Recycling Market Development Grants to solid waste management districts and their cooperating businesses across Ohio.

In awarding the grants, the division prioritizes projects that bring about new or increased manufacturing and processing of various grades of recycled paper, plastics and glass.

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