ETCOG awards more than $80K in grants to reduce solid waste

TYLER – The East Texas Council of Governments(ETCOG) has awarded $81,429.64 to several local governments and agencies in order to reduce solid waste that ends up in landfills. According to our news partner KETK, the funds will help the awarded areas start or expand their projects which can divert waste from landfills by reducing waste at the source or on it’s way to the landfill.

ETCOG’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee is made up of local solid waste experts who rank and scores each area’s application for these grants before they send them to ETCOG’s Executive Committee which forwards their own recommendations to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for final approval.

“ETCOG appreciates the efforts of many of our jurisdictions to apply for these funds, as well as the Solid Waste Advisory Committee’s commitment to making East Texas a cleaner place to live,” ETCOG’s Economic Development Specialist, Bridget Booty said. “These essential projects led to the cleanup of hundreds of sites, over twenty tons of appliances, five tons of recyclable materials, almost 2,000 tires, and the collection of nearly 350 tons of solid waste last year. We are excited about the varied projects and look forward to seeing the results this year’s projects will bring to the region.”

ETCOG shared the list below which shows how much each area was awarded and what kind of project their funds will be spent on.