The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) announced recently it is awarding more than $2.5 million in grants to cities, counties, solid waste authorities and other groups across the state to boost recycling efforts, and two entities in Baldwin County are among the recipients.

The grants, which are for fiscal year 2026 and through the Alabama Recycling Fund (ARF), were awarded during the Alabama Recycling Coalition's Annual Conference and Expo, held Sept. 10-12, at the Westin Huntsville. The coalition, a statewide nonprofit that promotes waste reduction, material reuse, recycling and composting activities, is one of the grant recipients.

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 again to award grants to assist and, in many cases. enable these worthy recycling projects," ADEM Director Edward Poolos said in a statement. "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 Alabama Recycling Coalition itself is again the recipient of a recycling grant. ADEM awarded the coalition $51,500 to support recycling efforts throughout the state. The funding will be used to maintain, continue to develop and optimize the state recycling website, ALRecycles.org, which was funded with a 2025 grant. The coalition will create content and implement a multi-media awareness campaign, as well as procure and distribute promotional items.

The group will also host two ADEM grant workshops to ensure effective management and completion of recycling projects.

The coalition is one of 20 entities awarded recycling grants for 2026. Recipients include county and city governments, solid waste authorities, recycling centers and a recycling partnership.

Locally, Solid Waste Disposal Authority of Baldwin County received $123,832, and the City of Fairhope was awarded $156,000.

"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."