Cherry Hill To Get $135K Grant For Recycling

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Cherry Hill will receive a $135,871 grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for waste reduction and recycling, state officials announced.

It is part of $16 million in grants that are being awarded statewide. It’s an increase of $1.8 million from last year, according to NJDEP.

“Thirty years after becoming the first state in the nation to enact a recycling law, New Jersey remains steadfast in its commitment to reducing, reusing and recycling solid waste,” NJDEP Acting Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said. “By supporting our local government partners through these grants, we can deliver waste reduction and recycling programs that enhance the quality of life for all New Jersey communities.”

The awards are based on a municipality’s 2018 recycling performance, and are paid for through a $3 per-ton surcharge on trash disposed at solid waste facilities statewide, according to officials.
NJDEP then allocates that money back to municipalities based on how much recycling each community reports accomplishing during a particular calendar year.

Cherry Hill must use that money to continue and improve its recycling programs, officials said. This can include doing educational visits to generators of recyclable materials to ensure proper source separation, sponsoring household hazardous waste collection events, providing recycling receptacles in public places, maintaining leaf composting operations and more.

New Jersey municipalities and counties generated 23 total tons of solid waste, with 13.3 million tons recycled and 9.7 million tons disposed in 2018, the most recent year for which data is available. This represents a total solid waste recycling rate of 58 percent. Solid waste includes municipal waste plus construction debris and other types of non-municipal waste.

New Jersey generated 9.8 million tons of municipal solid waste, of which 3.8 million tons were recycled and 6 million tons were disposed. This represents a municipal solid waste recycling rate of 39 percent.

New Jersey’s municipal solid waste recycling rate exceeds the national recycling rate average of 34 percent but is below the state’s municipal solid waste recycling goal of 50 percent.

“We are pleased to distribute grants for recycling initiatives that will educate the public about the importance of keeping our environment clean,” Site Remediation and Waste Management Assistant Commissioner Mark Pedersen said. “While New Jersey continues to be a national leader in recycling, these grants demonstrate our commitment to continually improve our recycling program.”