Kentucky Recycling Bill Becomes Law

Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s bipartisan legislation to promote and facilitate recycling by local governments has become law.

Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher has signed Senate Bill 50, bipartisan legislation that promotes and facilitates recycling by establishing a grant program, into law. The bill passed both chambers of the General Assembly without a dissenting vote.

SB 50, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly (R-Springfield), would create grants for recycling and for collection of household hazardous waste. The money would come from a portion of the funding currently directed toward cleaning illegal dumps under the Kentucky Pride program.

“From the beginning, it’s been a priority of our administration to work to achieve a healthy environment, which is indispensable to a healthy economy,” Fletcher said. “With this legislation, we take another step toward that goal. I am grateful to Sen. Kelly for his leadership on this issue and gratified by the Legislature’s overwhelming, bipartisan support for Senate Bill 50.”

Sen. Kelly said, “Now that we have reduced illegal dumps in Kentucky, it is important to also provide communities a responsible way to dispose of hazardous household waste and recyclable materials instead of putting them in illegal dumps.” He added, “Recycling helps local governments—and taxpayers—save landfills or money.”

The dump cleanup program was established under House Bill 174 of the 2002 General Assembly. It has been funded with proceeds of a $25 million bond issue and a fee of $1.75 per ton of waste disposed of at Kentucky landfills. Under SB 50, counties that have been successful in cleaning up illegal dumps would be eligible to use funding for recycling and collection of household hazardous waste.

LaJuana S. Wilcher, secretary of the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet (EPPC), said, “This legislation provides an additional incentive for action at the community level.”

EPPC’s Division of Waste Management estimates that 566,000 tons of materials with secondary value are disposed of in Kentucky in a year. The cost of disposal, coupled with the materials’ lost sales value, totals about $53 million a year.