October 11, 2024 - Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, park visitors can soon recycle plastic and aluminum bottles and cans while visiting MetroParks of Butler County parks.  

The Community and Litter Grant funded the purchase of 166 recycling bins that will arrive at all 17 MetroParks locations in the coming weeks. “Recycling is an important part of protecting and preserving the environment,” says Tony Carpenter, MetroParks’ Director of Operations, “MetroParks wants to encourage everyone to do their part and keep plastic bottles and aluminum cans out of the local waste stream.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that recycling or composting municipal solid waste country-wide reduced atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by the equivalent of 193 million metric tons in 2018. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and the destruction of natural habitats. Reducing the number of materials that end up in landfills helps to save energy and resources that would otherwise be used to create new materials, which creates more carbon emissions. The EPA approximates that recycling just 10 plastic bottles is enough to power a 60W CFL lightbulb for almost 100 hours. 

Click here for more information about MetroParks’ environmental conservation projects.

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