EPA Honors Georgia Recycling Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) the 2009 Resource Conservation Challenge National Achievement Award. The award is for DCA’s Georgia Regional Recycling Transfer Hub Program, which seeks to facilitate single-stream recycling collection in rural parts of the state.

“DCA is honored to be the recipient of his national recycling award,” said DCA Commissioner Mike Beatty in a press release. “We expect this initiative to have a measurable impact on our statewide environmental and recycling efforts. The efficiencies the hubs provide will help communities reduce recycling-related transportation costs and enhance statewide recycling efforts. Innovative programs such as this have established Georgia as one of the nation’s recycling leaders.”

“Approximately 170 Georgia cities will now have access to central recycling collection facilities. These facilities will provide much-needed infrastructure to collect and transport recyclable materials, making local programs more cost-effective and ultimately more sustainable,” added Randy Hartmann, director of the Office of Environmental Management for DCA, in the release. “Efficient collection, sorting, processing and shipping of recyclables within the state keep programs viable and keep materials in Georgia, and these materials go directly back to Georgia’s industries.”