The Team
Circular Indiana wants to acknowledge and extend a warm thank you to the following parties for their contributions to this project.
Project Lead
Strengthening Indiana's circular economy through waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting
Circular Indiana is a statewide not-for-profit, 501 (c)(3) corporation representing concerned citizens, state and local government officials, business, industry and environmental groups since December of 1989. We focus on uniting Hoosiers in waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting in order to preserve our communities for future generations. We educate and advocate to inspire individual Hoosiers, businesses, institutions, and state and local governments to think and act beyond recycling and towards a more circular economy in Indiana.
Project Funder
Smart Technology. Smart Region. Smart Future.
The Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN) is a consortium of 10 counties in north-central Indiana devoted to working together to fuel prosperity by harnessing the power of Internet-enabled sensors to develop our region into a global epicenter of digital agricultural and next-generation manufacturing. WHIN is merging the Midwest’s unparalleled leadership in agriculture and manufacturing with Purdue University’s globally recognized engineering expertise and Ivy Tech’s applied education. We are building upon all of our world-class abilities – agriculture, manufacturing and engineering – while focusing on our region’s sense of community and affordable cost of living.
Project Partner
Creating sustainable systems that can exist in harmony with the natural world
The research of Purdue University’s Environmental and Ecological Engineering program embraces issues related to legacy, existing, and potential environmental challenges or opportunities. The EEE discovery mission is positioned to respond to society’s need to understand the world we live in, and to develop strategies for sustainably managing Earth’s limited resources and ecosystems so that they will be available for generations to come.
Project Collaborators
The Recycling Partnership
The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit transforming recycling for good in towns, cities and states all across America, served in an advisory capacity. They are a grant-making and loaning organization that consolidates expertise from across the country including best practices for municipal, regional and state residential recycling programs.
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Indiana’s state environmental regulatory agency, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), contributed historic, annual, recycling data by material type, origin and final destination for the region. IDEM also offered feedback and guidance on project direction.
Solid Waste Management Districts
Multiple solid waste management district (SWMD) directors for the ten-county region were engaged to help the IRC understand the recycling landscape of the region, share challenges and opportunities as well as county level recycling data, and provide feedback on possible technological solutions.
Muncipalities
All cities and towns within the ten-county region who currently offered curbside recycling programs and/or operated their own recycling drop-offs were engaged to help Circular Indiana understand the nature of their programs, the challenges and opportunities they faced, and provide municipal recycling data.
Private Recyclers
A handful of private entities operating private recycling facilities, material recovery facilities, transfer stations, and hauling services were engaged to fill in data gaps where applicable, reinforce information, and share their perspective as business owners, small and large.