Connecticut municipalities call on state leaders to ID funding sources for recycling, waste management

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), based in New Haven, is asking state leaders to support solutions designed to create a better future for municipal waste management and recycling.  

Local leaders have worked closely with Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes and staff and the Connecticut Coalition for Sustainable Materials Management over the last year with a focus on finding solutions to the state’s waste management crisis, the CCM says. 

Leading CMC's efforts are First Selectman of Bethel Matthew Knickerbocker, Milford Mayor Ben Blake, Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick and First Selectman of Durham Laura Francis.

Additionally, CCM says it is calling on the state to collaborate with local leaders to evaluate current markets and identify new local and regional opportunities for unconventional or novel uses of recycling and municipal solid waste and to consider tax breaks and recycled materials minimums to help create new markets. 

Local leaders also are calling for eliminating glass from single-stream recycling programs, saying it will alleviate costs to communities and assist in reducing contamination. Additionally, CCM supports finding solutions for the removal of organic waste from the municipal solid waste stream. “We understand the complexities of organics removal and as such would caution that any source-separated system that is created does not leave municipalities with the financial burdens of separate hauling costs,” the organization adds in a news release about its efforts.  

CCM also advocates for expanding S.B. 1037, the bottle deposit law, to include wine and liquor glass bottles and recommends that any new revenue is protected and “recycled” back into the system to support infrastructure and process improvements. The organization calls for language to be included in S.B. 1037 that would remove glass from the recycling stream.

“Connecticut towns and cities cannot afford to ride the volatile waste management markets,” says Joe DeLong, CCM executive director and CEO. “There are ideas out there for municipalities to reduce the tipping fees for their towns; in one case that means banning certain items altogether, in another you remove items like glass and organic material from the stream altogether. Let’s not let perfection be the enemy of progress here and encourage the legislature to support bills before them to provide small but significant steps towards a holistic solution to our waste management crisis.”