Earth First gets grant and adds jobs
Wane
Earth First gets grant and adds jobs
Updated: Thursday, 16 Aug 2012, 9:14 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 16 Aug 2012, 9:14 PM EDT
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Earth First is one of five Indiana companies getting grants to expand recycling operations.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Recycling Market Development Program is giving $500,000 to those companies. Statewide, that will lead to the creation of 37 full time and 50 part time jobs.
Earth First is getting $100,000 to expand operations at its Fort Wayne facility to include a C&D Recycle Center and Transfer Station. The $1.4 million investment will allow the company to hire 12 new employees and expand markets by opening its services to the general public.
“IDEM is pleased to aid Indiana businesses in their efforts to re-energize recycling,” said IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly. “The Recycling Market Development Program funding contributes significantly to greater efficiency in manufacturing, the reduction of wastes, the sustainability of Indiana businesses, and a thriving economy.”
Following is information about the other recipients and their projects:
• Apex Group, Inc. in Howard County - $75,000 to develop a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) that will cover the counties of Carol, Cass, Howard, Grant, Miami, Tipton, and Wabash. The $157,000 project will allow the company to double its workforce to 26 employees. The approximate throughput will be 300 tons per month, diverting from the waste stream an estimated 3,600 tons annually of mixed materials, including plastic, glass, and aluminum.
• Denney Excavating, Inc. in Marion County - $100,000 to expand plant operations for processing construction and demolition (C&D) debris. A mobile crushing unit will be purchased and used on-site at demolition projects to generate backfill material from brick, concrete, and cinder blocks. Four new jobs will be created as a result of the $410,000 expansion. An estimated 200,000 tons of C&D waste will be diverted from landfills annually.
• Reflective Industries, LLC in Jay County - $200,000 to expand glass recycling operations at the Dunkirk facility. The company is investing $760,906 to purchase machinery that will allow the plant to extract glass from material recovery facilities and other recycling processors that otherwise would not be considered recyclable and then enter the waste stream. They expect to add eight employees after the expansion is complete. The project technology will yield furnace ready cullet, diverting annually an estimated 84,000 tons of glass, as well as 21,000 tons of paper, and 5,000 tons of plastic and steel combined.
• U.S . Greenworks, LLC in Lake County - $25,000 to reuse granite remnants from fabrication companies in Indiana. Products are manufactured into landscaping pavers, split stone veneer tile, mosaics, and jewelry. The company will work with a local special needs workforce to add 50 part time employees to its operations. This also will allow U.S. Greenworks to annually divert more than 250 tons of granite countertop from landfills.
