Thursday, February 22, 2018 12:45 pm

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) announced today three grants had been awarded to Cannon County to support community recycling efforts in a statewide effort to reduce landfill waste.

"TDEC is committed to increasing the diversion and beneficial use of materials that would otherwise end up in landfills or contaminating our waters," said TDEC Commissioner Bob Martineau. "These grants will help local communities meet the ever-growing challenge of finding ways to reuse materials that would otherwise be discarded to benefit our economy and protect our environment."

The grants awarded to Cannon County total $144,550.

"This is tremendous news for Cannon County and is a major step forward in our efforts to make upgrades and improvements to the Cannon County Convenience Center," Mike Gannon, county executive, said.

Awarded projects fall into one of five categories: Recycling Hub and Spoke, Recycling Equipment, Recycling Rebate, Used Oil and Convenience Centers. Specific grant information is detailed below:

The Cannon County breakdown includes:

• $100,000 for Alexander Drive Convenience Center: compactor; receiver boxes, front load/roll-off containers; paving, fencing; attendant shelter; electric/water; engineering fees.

• $19,550 for education and outreach materials; general contractor; oil collection tank; canopy; pad; oil filter crusher; oil pump; old tank removal; antifreeze storage tank.

• $25,000 for truck scales.

Each grant amount represents an individual project award.

In all, TDEC announced the awarding of $6,041,629 in grants across the state.

Recycling Equipment Grants were authorized by the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991 and are supported by the Tennessee Solid Waste Management Fund, which is administered by TDEC. The fund receives revenues from a state surcharge on each ton of solid waste disposed in landfills and from a fee on new tires sold in the state. Used Oil Grants are authorized under the Used Oil Collection Act of 1993 and are funded by the Used Oil Collection Fund, which receives its revenues from a fee collected against every quart of oil sold.

For more information about TDEC's Materials Management program, visit https://www.tn.gov/environment/sw-mm-materials-management-program.html.