REAP- The Next Generation
The Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan strives to clean up West Virginia and rid the state of unsightly litter. The REAP- The Next Generation initiative harbors all of the state cleanup programs within the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. REAP is a powerful force in the campaign against illegal dumping and littering.
REAP focuses on cleanup efforts from both program staff and volunteers statewide. In a unique partnership, the program empowers citizens to take ownership of their communities by providing technical, financial, and resource assistance in cleanup efforts.
Featured Event:
Great Kanawha River Cleanup
Click on photo for video
More than 100 volunteers lent a helping hand to clean the Kanawha River on Saturday, September 10. There were five sites stretching from Gauley Bridge to Winfield. During the morning hours, these hardworking volunteers were able to remove nearly 3.5 tons of debris and 23 tires from the banks of the river. The Great Kanawha River Cleanup is sponsored by the Make It Shine Program within REAP. For more information on events such this, please call 1-800-322-5530.
Upcoming Events:
April 2-15, 2012
Make It Shine Statewide Cleanup
April 28, 2012
Adopt A Highway Statewide Spring Cleanup
REAP In The News:
2012 REAP Recycling Grants Awarded
Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman on Wednesday awarded grants worth $1.55 million to 39 recipients through the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s REAP Recycling Assistance Grants program.
The cabinet secretary presented the 2012 grants during a ceremony at the DEP’s Charleston headquarters. Grants were awarded to state solid waste authorities, county commissions, municipalities, private industries and nonprofit organizations.
Funding for the Recycling Assistance Grants Program is generated through the $1 assessment fee per ton of solid waste disposed at in-state landfills. Click here for a full list of recipients.
More than 11 tons of electronics collected for recycling
State officials collected more than 11 tons of electronic waste during the second of three free electronic recycling events co-sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
The latest collection was held in Sutton on Sept. 17. The DEP’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP) and MRM Recycling, co-sponsors of the event, collected 22,763 pounds of covered electronic devices, mostly televisions. Residents also dropped off items such as computers, computer parts and cell phones to be recycled. A total of 146 cars came through the event.
In addition to TVs, computers, computer parts and cell phones, other items accepted were speakers, Webcams, CD players and tape players.
Sandy Rogers, state recycling coordinator for REAP, said the event was a success. “It’s a success anytime we can keep these items off the sides of hills or out of our streams and rivers,” she said.
Coupled with the year’s first electronic recycling event in Fayetteville, close to 30 tons of electronics have been collected thus far by the DEP. The third and final event this year is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 15 in Logan at the Lowe’s parking lot on Norman Morgan Boulevard, off Route 119.
FY2012 REAP Litter Control Grants Awarded
Twenty-six applicants have been approved for amounts totaling $57,241 for state Department of Environmental Protection REAP Litter Control Matching Grants. DEP Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman announced the grant recipients for fiscal year 2012.
Grants were awarded to state solid waste authorities, county commissions and municipalities. Funding for the litter control program is generated through Legislative Rule §22-15A-4: “For unlawful disposal of litter, the circuit clerk shall deposit 50 percent of all civil penalties into the Litter Control Fund.”
The DEP’s REAP program (Rehabilitation Envitonmental Action Plan) empowers citizens to take ownership of their communities by providing technical, financial, and resource assistance in cleanup efforts.
For a complete list of recipients please click here.
More than 10,000 volunteers participate in cleanup programs
More than 10,000 volunteers removed litter and debris from the state’s landscape during two spring cleanup programs sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
Numbers were recently finalized for April’s Make It Shine and Adopt-A-Highway cleanup programs, administered by the DEP’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP).
The two-week Make It Shine statewide cleanup was bolstered by the efforts of 3,772 volunteers, who removed 125 tons of litter from West Virginia’s public lands and streams. At least one cleanup was scheduled in each of the state’s 55 counties. Make It Shine volunteers also collected 3,376 old tires and cleaned 119 miles of roadway, 148 miles of stream, 48 miles of trail and 2,241 acres of park.
More than 6,400 volunteers from across the state participated in the spring Adopt-A-Highway cleanup and collected more than 6,200 bags of litter from over 1,000 miles of West Virginia’s roadways. The Adopt-A-Highway fall cleanup is scheduled Sept. 30 through Oct. 2.
“I am very proud of our state’s natural beauty and of our citizens’ efforts to preserve that beauty by volunteering for cleanup programs such as Make It Shine and Adopt-A-Highway,” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said. “By participating in these programs, West Virginians are not only doing their part to protect the environment and make our state the cleanest in the nation. They’re also helping maintain the state’s vital tourism industry by keeping our mountains and streams free of litter.”
Help make West Virginia the cleanest state in the nation. For more information or to volunteer call:
1-800-322-5530
Click for REAP's calendar of events
Click to view a copy of our enviro-fact sheet