Recycling group to receive grant funding

A local recycling group will use $3,200 to expand efforts in the area, purchasing desk-side recycling bins for a pilot program to recycle office paper. Recycle Hi-Line applied for a $25,000 grant through the state Department of Environmental Quality to purchase both deskside bins and larger depository bins. Part of that money would have paid for educational efforts, as well, but only enough money will be received for the bins. "I think it's the first step on setting up an infrastructure system," said Tom Tucker who worked on the grant. District IV Human Resources Development Council and the Hill County Courthouse will receive some of the bins. Then, they will supply a "point man" to transport the collected paper to the Havre Day Activity Center or Pacific Steel and Recycling, said Tucker, who wrote the grant. "We're looking for partnerships," he said. The Unified Disposal Board also will provide a $160 match for the grant. Tucker said he hopes to get Blaine and Chouteau counties involved, as well. "Anyone within the UDB is who we're going to target," Tucker said. The bins should be in place in the next two months. "It's going to be our chance to show people that this can work," he said. In other recycling news: • The Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line is now accepting the following items for recycling: jewelry, cell phones, ink jet printer cartridges, laptops and netbooks, MP3 players, digital cameras, digital video cameras, GPS devices, radar detectors, Kindle and Sony Book readers. The money from the recycling efforts are used for various club activities. • More reusable grocery bags are available for purchase for $3 each. Thirty cents of the price goes to the sustainability group at Montana Stat e University-Northern for recycling efforts on campus. Contact Tucker at 265-3699 for more information.