Yancey County Receives Recycling Grant

Yancey County officials were recently notified that Yancey County has received a grant from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the amount of $30,000 to expand recycling operations within the county. The County is required to match the grant that will provide much needed improvements at the county’s recycling centers. By utilizing the money from this grant and expanding the County’s recycling program the County could also save money by not having to pay to ship solid waste to a landfill in Lenoir.

One area that this grant allows the county to expand is in the area of motor oil and oil filter recycling. Last year, the state banned oil filters and other materials from landfills. Currently, the county only accepts used motor oil and oil filters at the East Yancey Convenience Center but with this grant allows the program to be expanded to the Riverside and the South Toe Convenience Center sites. Another exciting area that this grant will provide is to expand the collection of recyclables at the Bee Log and Pensacola sites. Currently, the Bee Log and Pensacola sites do not accept any recyclable goods but this grant will allow for the purchase of equipment for both centers to accept recyclables such as plastics, aluminum, and glass. Additionally, this grant allows the county to purchase a new baler to be placed at the central recycling facility at the East Yancey Convenience Center for faster and more efficient processing of recycled materials that is less labor intensive than the current system.

Commissioner Chairman Walter Savage stated, “This is a very exciting opportunity for our county to expand our recycling operations. This was one of our major initiatives when we first took office and it is good to see that we are now better equipped to protect the environment and to save money in the process. This is something that is going to benefit a large number of people in Yancey County” .