Keep Kimball Beautiful Effort Looking Pretty

Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy Director Jim Macy last week announced $6 million in grants to support 161 environmentally themed projects across the state.

The Kimball area received a significant $102,334 chunk of those grants for Keep Kimball Beautiful initiatives. That total exceeds those of grants awarded for the larger Panhandle communities of Scottsbluff-Gering and Sidney.

Statewide, the grants will help fund litter and waste reduction projects and recycling programs. They also will pay for scrap tire cleanups and collections for household hazardous waste, electronic waste and pharmaceuticals.

Kimball’s grants fit nicely into those categories. Keep Kimball Beautiful applied for each one. They include:

– A $62,385 grant to operate the Kimball Recycling Center, the only local option for household recycling needs with a 50-mile radius.

– A $22,955 grant to provide environmental education on litter prevention and waste management for the Kimball area. This will involve work with Kimball Public Schools and Banner County School.

– A $16,994 grant to increase recycling by providing collection services for rural residents and residential alley recycling pickup.

“There were many outstanding applications submitted to NDEE this year,” Macy said. “These grants will assist many important local efforts to promote litter and waste reduction, and help handle the costs of proper disposal of many materials, such as household hazardous waste and scrap tires.”

Regionally, the Scottsbluff area received three grants totaling $98,997 for the Keep Scottsbluff-Gering Beautiful effort, and the Sidney area received two grants for $35,164 for Keep Sidney Beautiful and Sidney Public Schools.

Grant applications will be available in July for 2021.