TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has awarded nearly $500,000 in waste tire recycling grants to municipalities and school districts across the state.

Most of the grants will help partially fund the purchase of products that provide safe surfacing at playgrounds and for picnic tables and benches made from waste tires.

KDHE Secretary Rod Bremby said the program will conserve landfill space and encourage recycling by communities and school districts throughout the state.

This year's 48 waste tire recycling grants, ranging from $269 to $79,315, are distributed to recipients across the state.

Metro area grant recipients include the city of Overland Park, which received $8,500 to replace wood mulch with waste tire mulch under the tractor and pony trail at Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead and Atchison County, which will use a $824 grant to purchase recycled tire/plastic tables for Atchison County Lake.

The grants are funded from a 25-cent tax paid on the purchase of new tires.

For a complete list of the 2009 grant recipients, visit the KDHE Web site.