Mass. Suspends Grant Program

Recycling programs throughout the state of Massachusetts will take a hit when the state suspends a key grant program this month, according to local officials.

The state Department of Environmental Protection recently announced that the Municipal Recycling Incentive Program will be discontinued until fiscal 2004. The program, which pays qualifying cities and towns for each ton of material recycled, doled out nearly $400,000 to 22 suburban communities in the Globe West circulation area in fiscal 2002.

The state also will cut equipment and education grants, down from 200 awards given last year to about 20 - money that local recycling officials rely on to buy extra bins, mail fliers, and hold hazardous waste collection days.

''What it means is that municipalities will not have the same level of resources that they had in the past, state assistancewise,'' said Greg Cooper, deputy division director of consumer programs at the Department of Environmental Protection. ''The long and short of it is, the cuts may have an impact on a municipality's ability to properly educate their residents and expand their existing programs.''

The Municipal Recycling Incentive Program, which started in 1998, pays cities and towns from $3 to $10 for each ton a community recycles. The program is funded by the Clean Environment Fund, a dedicated account made up of unclaimed bottle deposits, according to Cooper.

While the state could restore the program next fiscal year if funds become available, local recycling officials worry that it could disappear.