PARSIPPANY — Parsippany will receive $50,378 along with the other 39 municipalities in Morris County from a total of $805,259 in state recycling grants from a pool of $14.3 million in grants announced this week by the state Department of Environmental Protection, with the money to be used to help implement and enhance local recycling efforts.
The funds, based on 2013 recycling performance, are being awarded through the state’s Recycling Enhancement Act.
Topping the list of grant recipients in Morris County are Montville, $59,560; Rockaway Township, $56,534; Parsippany, $50,378; and Madison, $40,905.
“Recycling is a way for all Morris County residents, and our schools and businesses, to make a personal hands-on difference in protecting our environment and enhancing the quality of life in our county and state,” said Morris County Freeholder Director Kathy DeFillippo.
“Recycling not only conserves resources, it conserves energy, saves money for local governments, and creates jobs and economic development,’’ said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin.
The best way to recycle is to follow the guidelines advertised by your municipality and only recycle those materials which are acceptable. Unacceptable materials in the recycling stream cause problems and lower the value of all the materials, said Morris County Recycling Coordinator Kathleen Hourihan.
The state’s recycling grant program is funded by a $3 per ton surcharge on trash disposed of at solid waste facilities across the state. Distribution of grants this year is based on the recycling successes local governments demonstrated in 2013.
The grant program is designed to reward local governments for good performance and to enhance recycling efforts across the state, according to the DEP. Each award is based on materials collected and recycled and can be used in various ways to improved recycling results, such as producing educational materials and paying salaries for recycling coordinators.
In 2013, New Jersey generated more than 10 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW). The DEP documented the recycling of more than 4.3 million tons of recyclable municipal wastes, which includes items such as glass, aluminum and other metals, and paper.
This resulted in a MSW recycling rate of 43 percent. In comparison, the national MSW recycling rate in 2013 was 34.3 percent, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Morris County continues to be one of the leaders in the state with an MSW recycling rate of nearly 50 percent.
Overall, New Jersey in 2013 generated more than 21 million tons of solid waste, which includes municipal waste plus construction debris and other types of non-municipal waste. Of this, more than 12 million tons were recycled, for an overall recycling rate of 58 percent.
Municipal programs in Morris County will receive the following grants: Boonton $10,109; Boonton Township $4,447; Butler $4,941; Chatham $34,911; Chatham Township $10,554; Chester $4,734; Chester Township $8,055; Denville $35,252; Dover $15,962; East Hanover $37,829; Florham Park $20,823; Hanover $31,692; Harding $3,173; Jefferson $27,243; Kinnelon $11,564; Lincoln Park $17,860; Long Hill $9,302.
Madison $40,905; Mendham $7,506; Mendham Township $3,849; Mine Hill $2,178; Montville $59,560; Morris Township $37,871 Morris Plains $16,697; Morristown $37,512; Mountain Lakes $8,449; Mount Arlington $2,841; Mount Olive $36,149; Netcong $4,901; Parsippany-Troy Hills $50,378; Pequannock $22,489.
Randolph $36,382; Riverdale $14,343; Rockaway $13,386; Rockaway Township $56,534; Roxbury $26,762; Victory Gardens $1,222; Washington $19,263; and Wharton $17,631.
“New Jersey was the first state to make recycling mandatory, back in 1987,” said Mark Pedersen, DEP’s Assistant Commissioner for Site Remediation and Solid Waste Management. “The recycling culture is deeply ingrained in most of us and has become a daily habit in most of our homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and other institutions. Every time we pitch a bottle or can in the recycling bucket, we are pitching in to protect our environment.”
For a complete list of statewide recycling tonnage grants by municipality, click here.
