Previous Recycling Business Grant Awards

The annual Recycling Business Development Grant (RBDG) program offers funding to support viable, well-planned proposals from recycling businesses in North Carolina that build lasting, private-sector capacity to divert materials from the waste stream and create jobs in North Carolina. Summaries of awarded grant projects from the past five years are provided below.

Recent Awards

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State recycling business grants awarded in Spring 2023 were expected to generate approximately 135 jobs, more than $1.3 million in new, private business investments and a reduction in the state’s dependence on landfill disposal.

Ten companies that collect, process and manufacture new products with recycled materials received more than $440,000 in funds from N.C. DEQ’s Recycling Business Assistance Center in 2023. Grants support increases in plastic and paper processing capacity, upgrades to material recovery facilities, and improved markets for a variety of other recyclables. 

Read the press release here.

Selected projects include:

Clear Path Recycling in Cumberland County ($60,000) - Clear Path Recycling will purchase a silo to provide buffer capacity for continuity of plant operations and increased efficiency.

Curbside Management in Buncombe County ($60,000) - Curbside Management will install an additional optical sorter, conveyor belt, and relocate the AMP Robot to optimize the capture of materials. 

Direct Pack Recycling in Richmond County ($60,000) - Direct Pack Recycling will purchase a plastic material wash line to recover PET from MRFs in the Carolinas and southeast for use in their rPET thermoform manufacturing facility in Richmond County. The project is expected to create 120 jobs.

Ghost Fleet Oyster Co in Pender County ($20,000) - Ghost Fleet Oyster Co. will purchase food grade buckets, trashcans, dump trailer and compact tractor to expand oyster shell collection and management from restaurants and large dump sites.

Material Matters in Randolph County ($60,000) - Material Matters Inc. will purchase conveyors, hoppers and box dumpers for material handling to expand plastic recycling capacity. The project is expected to create 2 jobs.

Piedmont Disposal in Forsyth County ($40,000) - Piedmont Disposal will purchase a conveyor to feed their paper shredder more efficiently and increase overall production capacity. The project is expected to create 2 jobs.

Powerhouse Recycling in Rowan County ($60,000) - Powerhouse Recycling will purchase a semi truck to transport solar panels to their facility for recycling which will lower transportation costs for customers. The project is expected to create 6 jobs.

R3cycle in Union County ($20,000) - R3cycle will purchase a steam boiler to remove labels and glue from PET flake to improve quality.

Simply Green Recycling in Burke County ($22,500) - Simply Green Recycling will purchase 65-gallon recycling carts to replace 18-gallon bins to improve efficiency and recycling recovery.

Verity Recycling in Randolph County ($40,000) - Verity Recycling will purchase a truck and storage containers to expand their nursery pot reuse and recycling program to Warren and surrounding counties. The project is expected to create 5 jobs.

State recycling business grants awarded in Spring 2022 were expected to generate approximately 25 jobs, spur more than $2 million in new, private business investments and further reduce the state’s dependence on landfill disposal.

Fifteen companies that collect, process and manufacture new products with recycled materials will receive $585,000 in funds from N.C. DEQ's Recycling Business Assistance Center in 2022. Grants will support upgrades to material recovery facilities, increases in plastic processing capacity, and expansion of food waste collection and composting capacity.

Selected projects include:

Atlas Organics ($60,000) - Atlas Organics will purchase and put into use a stacker conveyor belt to improve material flow, increase processing capacity and compost more yard waste and food waste. (Durham County)

Crown Town Compost ($50,000) - Crown Town Compost will purchase a truck chasis for a satellite truck and an additional truck to feed the sattilite truck which will increase efficiency in their food waste collection operation. (Mecklenburg County)

EnviroVision ($50,000) - EnviroVision will purchase a granulator and conveyor system to double production capacity for recycling HDPE and other industrial plastics. (Davidson County)

Feed Me Foam ($30,000) - Feed Me Foam will purchase a van and EPS densifyer to be able to offer special event foam recycling to Western NC (Madison County)

HighCube ($50,000) - HighCube will purchase and put into use a router and a vacuum former to recycle foam and create shelving.  (Durham County)

McGill Environmental ($30,000) - McGill Environmental Systems will construct a concrete pad for finished product curing, freeing up space inside the compost building for an additional 5,000 tons per year of processing capacity. (Chatham County)

Orange Recycling Services ($30,000) - Orange Recycling Service will purchase and put into use a polystyrene foam densifier to expand their materials accepted for recycling. (Durham County)

Pelican Packaging ($30,000) - Pelican Packaging will purchase an automatic baler to improve efficiency and keep up with growing production of recycled industrial plastics. (Halifax County)

Plastic Materials ($30,000) - Plastic Materials will purchase a shredder with conveyer and metal detector whch will allow them to expand the number of plastic processing lines in their facility. (Gaston County)

R3cycle ($25,000) - R3cycle will purchase an eddy current separator to increase the capacity, efficiency, and quality of the operation. (Union County)

Strategic Materials ($25,000) - Strategic Materials will purchase and put into use glass cleaning equipment to more efficiently produce quality cullet.  (Wilson County)

Terra Bella Composting ($60,000) - Terra Bella will purchase and put into use a tractor, a box truck, a pickup truck, bins, and toters to implement food waste collection and composting.  (Pitt County)

The ReCollective ($40,000) - The ReCollective will purchase a van, collection kits and other startup equipment to launch a collection route for hard-to-recycle items. (Wake County)

Tiny Houses Greensboro ($15,000) - Tiny Houses Greensboro will purchase and put into use trailers, a shipping container, and a densifier for foam recycling.  (Guilford County)

Waste Management ($60,000) - Waste Management Lakeville will purchase and put into use an optical sorter to recycle PP and HDPE plastics. (Wake County)

State recycling business grants awarded in Spring 2021 were expected to generate approximately 108 jobs, more than $1.3 million in new, private business investments and a reduction in the state’s dependence on landfill disposal.

Sixteen companies that collect, process and manufacture new products with recycled materials received more than $490,000 in funds from N.C. DEQ’s Recycling Business Assistance Center in 2021. Grants support increases in plastic processing capacity, upgrades to material recovery facilities, and improved markets for a variety of other recyclables. 

Read the press release here.

Selected projects include:

American Recycling ($50,000) - American Recycling (Buncombe Co) will purchase an optical sorter to expand collection and processing of polypropylene bottles and containers.

AMES Copper Group ($30,000) - AMES (Cleveland Co) will purchase a spectrometer for the company’s new copper smelting facility to achieve quality specifications and maximize the breadth and volume of copper material recycled. 

Brunson Recycling ($36,979) - Brunson Recycling (McDowell Co) will purchase an aspirator and rotary drum to expand and improve industrial plastics recycling.

Cardinal Recycling ($20,000) - Cardinal Recycling (Rockingham Co) will purchase a baler with a conveyer to increase processing capacity for industrial plastics, film and cardboard.

Clear Path Recycling ($40,000) - Clear Path Recycling (Cumberland Co) will purchase a grinder system to recover mixed color plastic bottle flake.

EnviroVision ($30,000) - EnviroVision (Gaston Co) will purchase a shredder conveyor system to support their new service of collecting, reusing, and recycling 96-gallon carts coming out of service. 

Global Circle Recycling ($30,000) - Global Circle Recycling (Gaston Co) will purchase a shredder and regrind system to process additional industrial plastics.

Mahan & Huff ($11,000) - Mahan & Huff (Guilford Co) will purchase tractor trailers to expand their styrofoam recycling program.

McGill Environmental ($20,000) - McGill (Sampson Co) will purchase a radial stacker to effectively move and store finished products to minimize handling and maintain product quality. 

New East Recycling & Container ($11,000) - New East (Pitt Co) will purchase 20-yard and 30-yard roll-off recycling dumpsters to expand construction and demolition debris recycling. 

North Davidson Garbage Service ($25,000) - North Davidson Garbage Service (Davidson Co) will purchase a wheel loader to manage incoming mixed recycling loads more safely and effectively, leading to better productivity and improved material quality. 

Plastic Network ($25,000) - Plastic Network (Lincoln Co) will purchase silos to store material and facilitate product blending, allowing the company to expand specifications for plastics that can be accepted and recycled.

Shimar ($47,333.33) - Shimar (Durham Co) will purchase a forklift and a truck to recycle lab plastics from area research institutions and businesses. 

Sonoco Recycling - Raleigh ($50,000) - Sonoco (Wake Co) will purchase an optical sorter to separate fiber and non-fiber recyclables leading to increased recovery rates, less contamination, and better commodity values.

Strategic Materials ($36,625) - Strategic Materials (Durham Co) will purchase a new collection truck to ensure reliable collection of recyclable beverage containers for customers throughout the state.

Synergy Recycling ($30,000) - Synergy Recycling (Rockingham Co) will install a new processing line to separate cathode ray tube (CRT) glass for further processing. 

State recycling business grants awarded in Spring 2020 were expected to generate approximately 61 jobs, spur more than $2 million in new, private business investments and further reduce the state’s dependence on landfill disposal.

Twenty companies that collect, process and manufacture new products with recycled materials received more than $665,000 in funds from N.C. DEQ's Recycling Business Assistance Center in 2020. Grants support increases in plastic processing capacity, upgrades to material recovery facilities, expansion of recycled end-product manufacturing capacity and recycling processing for a variety of other materials.

Read the Press Release.

Selected projects include:

AEIPLUS, Inc. ($40,000) – AEIPLUS (Gaston) will purchase wash line equipment to clean contaminated agricultural plastics as part of the plastic film recycling process. 

American Recycling ($60,000) — American Recycling (Buncombe) will purchase a new baler to reduce costs and increase efficiency at the material recovery facility. 

Bromley Plastics ($60,000) – Bromley Plastics (Henderson) will purchase a plastic shredding system to increase capacity at its facility.

Carolina Concrete ($25,000) – Carolina Concrete (Craven) will purchase a permanent office building to expand the company's client base for concrete recycling.

Cascades Moulded Pulp ($60,000) – Cascades (Richmond) will purchase a detrasher and trommel system to separate debris from recyclable materials and improve efficiency for recycling mixed paper.

Clear Path Recycling ($40,000) – Clear Path Recycling (Cumberland) will purchase a system to reprocess material bound for landfill to recover greater amounts of recyclable plastic. 

Crown Town Compost ($32,130) – Crown Town Compost (Mecklenburg) will purchase a refrigerated walk-in trailer, curbside roll-out bins, a compost mixer, and a compost sifter to expand the company’s organic waste recycling services. 

East Coast Consolidated ($30,000) – East Coast Consolidated (Onslow) will purchase a split-body truck and recycling containers to expand curbside recycling service. 

Gallins Family Farm ($24,500) – Gallins Family Farm (Davie) will purchase a front-end loader to increase equipment capacity and processing productivity at its handling site for recycling food and organic waste.

Green Zone Recycling ($12,000) – Green Zone Recycling (Durham) will purchase an automated baler and collection containers to assist in textile collection and recycling.

High Cube ($25,000) – High Cube (Durham) will purchase a foam densifier to expand the company's post-commercial expanded polystyrene and polyethylene recycling services.

Industrial Commons ($30,000) – Industrial Commons (Burke) will purchase a conveyor and baler to more efficiently process textile waste for recycling.

Ingram Woodyards ($15,000) – Ingram Woodyards (Moore) will purchase an open top chip van to expand the company's wood debris recycling capacity. 

Orange Recycling Services ($10,000) – Orange Recycling Services (Durham) will purchase additional collection containers to expand the company's cardboard collection service in the Triangle area. 

Pelican Packaging ($40,000) – Pelican Packaging (Halifax) will rebuild a plastic shredder and purchase both a horizontal baler and forklifts to expand the company’s industrial plastics recycling capacity.

Plastic Materials ($60,000) – Plastic Materials (Gaston) will purchase a larger building to increase the company’s ability to recycle plastic film and rigid plastic scrap materials. 

RePolyTex LLC ($30,000) – RePolyTex (Rockingham) will purchase molding equipment to manufacture plastic "plywood" sheets made from electronics plastic scrap and other mixed plastics.

Resource Material Handling and Recycling ($12,000) – Resource Material (Iredell) will purchase a cyclone separation machine to improve the quality of plastic regrind.

Simply Green Recycling ($30,000) – Simply Green Recycling (Burke) will purchase a rear loading compacting truck to collect residential and commercial recycling more efficiently and expand service. 

Wellmark Plastics ($30,000) – Wellmark Plastics (Randolph) will purchase an optical sorter to separate and produce higher value recycled plastic resins.

State recycling business grants awarded in Spring 2019 were expected to generate approximately 38 jobs, spur more than $1.3 million in new, private business investments and further reduce the state’s dependence on landfill disposal.

Seventeen companies that collect, process and manufacture new products with recycled materials received more than $510,000 in funds from N.C. DEQ's Recycling Business Assistance Center in 2019. Grants support increases in plastic processing capacity, upgrades to material recovery facilities, expansion of recycled end-product manufacturing capacity and recycling processing for a variety of other materials.

Read the Press Release here.

Selected projects include:

American Recycling ($40,000) — American Recycling (Buncombe) will install a new plastics sorting line to increase the material value.

Asheboro Recycling ($20,000) — Asheboro Recycling (Randolph) will upfit an abandoned rail spur to increase shipping efficiency and expand markets.

Atlas Organics ($20,000) — Atlas Organics (Durham) will purchase and install wheel loader scales and temperature probes for its new Durham composting site.

Bromley Plastics ($40,000) — Bromley Plastics (Henderson) will purchase a blender and chiller to increase domestic plastic processing.

Brunson Recycling ($40,000) — Brunson Recycling (McDowell) will purchase a conveyor system, vibration separator and magnets to streamline PVC recycling.

Clear Path Recycling ($40,000) — Clear Path Recycling (Cumberland) will purchase conveyors and a vibrating screen to feed its new bottle wash trommel.

DC Foam ($10,000) — DC Foam (Wake) will purchase material identification equipment to aid them in carpet recycling. 

Envision Plastics ($40,000) — Envision Plastics (Rockingham) will purchase optical flake sorting machines to increase recycling processing capacity for colored HDPE. 

Global Circle Recycling ($10,000) — Global Circle Recycling (Gaston) will purchase trailers to increase the amount of recycling that they can receive.

Hatteras Recycle ($40,000) — Hatteras Recycle (Dare) will purchase a walking floor trailer, cab and chassis to ship curbside recyclables more efficiently.

McGill Environmental ($25,000) — McGill Environmental (Sampson) will purchase and install a compost aeration floor to increase throughput and quality of compost at its Delway facility.

New East Container ($6,000) — New East Container (Pitt) will purchase new roll off containers to expand construction and demolition recycling.

Pelican Packaging ($40,000) — Pelican Packaging (Halifax) will purchase a shredder to process heavy industrial plastic scrap.

Plastic Materials ($40,000) — Plastic Materials (Gaston) will purchase a shredder to dedicate a line exclusively for grinding rigid plastic.

Roll-Tech ($20,000) — Roll-Tech (Catawba) will purchase specialized molding tooling sets to manufacture more recycled rubber and plastic products.

Sonoco Recycling - New Hanover ($40,000) — Sonoco Recycling (New Hanover) will create a larger sort line metering bin to better manage incoming volume and to increase recycling processing capacity.

Wellmark Plastics ($40,000) — Wellmark Plastics (Randolph) will purchase a filtration system to remove contaminants from recycled plastic.