18 area municipalities find out that it pays to recycle

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.comTimes Leader Staff Writer

Eighteen Luzerne County municipalities will share in more than $388,000 in state grants for recycling efforts.

The municipalities are among 478 statewide that qualified for funding through the Recycling Performance Grant Program. The state’s communities collected a record 5.48 million tons of recyclable materials in 2008 and will share in more than $17.8 million to help continue their recycling programs.

“Today, more than 11.6 million state residents, or 94 percent of the population, have access to recycling,” said Gov. Ed Rendell in a release. “The grants we’re announcing are an important part of ensuring those programs can continue and they provide an incentive for communities to expand their programs … . ”

In Luzerne County, the largest grant went to Wilkes-Barre, which recycled more than 6,100 tons of materials and qualified for $89,434 in grant funding. But even recycling a small amount, as the residents of Hughestown did, meant money for the borough.

The town of 1,500 reported nearly 86 tons of materials being recycled in 2008, resulting in a state grant of $1,026. The value of the grants is based on a formula used by the state that factors in the total tons recycled and population.

Thanks to some acts of the state Legislature earlier this year, recycling should continue to be partially funded by the state for years to come.

The Legislature overwhelmingly approved and the governor signed Act 24 to ensure the existing $2-per-ton fee on all waste disposed at municipal waste landfills is extended through Jan. 1, 2020. That fee supports recycling in Pennsylvania.

Additionally, just last month Rendell signed Act 108 into law, creating a recycling program for electronic waste items such as televisions, computers and other electronic equipment. The program will be funded by electronic manufacturers and will prevent toxic substances such as cadmium, lead and mercury from polluting the environment.

“That’s incredibly important because recycling benefits our environment and it benefits our economy, as well. As a state, we’ve recycled more than 37 million tons of material in the past eight years,” Rendell said.

The materials Pennsylvanians recycle support more than 3,800 businesses and organizations, according to a release issued by the governor’s press office. Those businesses and organizations account for more than $20.6 billion in gross annual sales and provided jobs for more than 52,000 employees at an annual payroll of approximately $2.2 billion.