Sep 26, 2020 2 min read

South Strabane’s recent recycling efforts are paying off.

This year the township more than doubled the annual grant money it receives through the state’s recycling performance grant program. The program is based on tonnage of recycling materials collected from commercial and residential properties within the township, according to township manager Brandon Stanick.

Between 2018 and 2019, that tonnage increased by 169%, Stanick said. Since 2013, the township’s annual reimbursement from the grant averaged about $9,400. In 2019, that number increased to $24,032, he said.

“We’ve been focusing on programs that help promote recycling, such as the glass recycling event at the municipal building,” Stanick said.

In the last year, the township also established a permanent drop-off location for glass and yard waste recycling at the former public works facility, 235 Zediker Station Road.

“We are collecting glass on a full-time basis,” Stanick said. “We also collect cardboard in the paper retriever dumpster that we have at the municipal building.”

He said these efforts to increase drop-off recycling throughout the township have certainly contributed to the increase in tonnage. He also said the township has “enhanced communication” with residents and business to discuss recycling options and to ensure better record keeping on how much material is being recycled.

“We took many of those actions last year,” he said.

The township also recently established a “Green Team,” a volunteer committee that advises and make recommendations to the board of supervisors on issues regarding recycling, sustainability and litter problems.

That grant money, Stanick said, will help “fund any types of projects or programming to help us in any other recycling and other sustainable initiatives.”