Alabama awards $2.5M in grants to boost recycling efforts

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has awarded more than $2.5 million in grants from the Alabama Recycling Fund (ARF) to cities, counties, solid waste authorities and other groups across the state to boost recycling efforts.

The grants, which are for fiscal year 2026, were awarded during the Alabama Recycling Coalition’s Annual Conference and Expo, held Sept. 10-12 in Huntsville, Alabama.

The coalition, a statewide nonprofit organization that promotes waste reduction, material reuse, recycling and composting activities, is one of the grant recipients and received $51,500 to support recycling efforts across the state. The funding will be used to maintain, continue to develop and optimize the state recycling website through content creation and the implementation of a multimedia awareness campaign.

Totaling $2,529,388, the grants are made possible by the Solid Wastes and Recyclable Materials Management Act, passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2008.

“ADEM is delighted to be able to again award grants to assist and, in many cases, enable these worthy recycling projects,” ADEM Director Edward Poolos says. “This is the 17th year of the grant program, and we can clearly see the impact this funding is having as recycling continues to grow in Alabama. Every item that is recycled is one less item that ends up in a landfill or littered alongside our roads, on our land or in our water.”

The coalition is one of 18 entities awarded recycling grants for 2026. Recipients include county and city governments, solid waste authorities, recycling centers and a recycling partnership.

The city of Birmingham, Alabama, received $137,837, with a majority of funds to be used for education to support school recycling programs through Keep Birmingham Beautiful.

“One of the many benefits of this program is the partnership we have developed with local governments and local agencies to promote and advance recycling in the state,” Poolos said. “We are constantly looking for opportunities to boost the reuse of materials not only because it reduces disposal costs and landfill use, but because it also saves natural resources. These local groups are where recycling and preserving our resources begin.”

A full list of grant recipients can be found here.