Last week, the Allen County Department of Environmental Management announced a federal grant to support and expand battery recycling in the community.
Purdue Fort Wayne is also a partner in the $1.7 million “Stop the Spark” project.
The federal grant will contribute about 50 percent of the cost of the program for the next three years, and will help increase public awareness and education about the dangers of lithium ion batteries, which can swell and catch fire.
Educational training will also be provided to first responders and workers of hazardous waste facilities who have to deal with the potentially dangerous batteries
The grant will also pay for increased battery recycling and efforts to educate the public in general about the best practices of battery safety.
The county was one of only seven in the entire U.S. to receive this grant, funded by the Bipartisan infrastructure law, according to a release.
The award was announced last week. Allen County’s Director of the Department of Environmental Management Stacie Hubbert says that the funding will benefit not only the county but the entire state in promoting recycling and safe battery practices.