(KAIR)--Several local beneficiaries are named by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment as recipients of waste tire grants, awarded annually to fund projects that, a release explains, "include the use of recycled tire products like playground surfacing and picnic tables."

The annual waste tire grants are awarded to local municipalities and public and private schools K-12 across the state.

Named to share in a portion of the near $461,000 in total grant funding, awarded to 33 recipients, is the City of Effingham, which receives $1,086; the City of Sabetha, receiving more than $5,510; the City of Blue Rapids, receiving $1,094; Vermillion USD 380 was awarded a $36,315 grant; and the Axtell Public School is named to receive just over $17,000.

The grants are funded by revenue collected through the Kansas tire excise tax, which is 25 cents per tire on the sale of new tires for vehicles operating on public streets and highways.