WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES RECYCLING GRANT FOR UPPER MERION TOWNSHIP

HARRISBURG, June 14, 2002 - - State Senator Connie Williams today announced that a grant will soon be awarded to Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County under the Recycling Development and Implementation Grant Program. The program is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The grant of $159,319 will be used to conduct a recycling education program consisting of signs for trucks and an educational video.

The grant will also help to purchase a truck that will be used for collecting yard waste throughout the communities in Upper Merion Township. The yard waste will then be hauled to a compost site where the leaves will be recycled into mulch and limbs and branches will be recycled into wood chips.

The grant will also help to fund an educational video which will be produced by the Township. The video will explain how the yard waste recycling program works so that more township residents can participate.

"This generous grant will be put to good use in Upper Merion Township," Williams (D-Montgomery/Delaware) said.

"It will enable the Township to create a yard waste recycling program while educating its residents on the importance of recycling."

Upper Merion Township has received the "Waste Watcher" award for four consecutive years.