The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has awarded $3.4 million in municipal and county grants to support local recycling programs.
Additionally, Bradley Campbell, DEP Commissioner, also announced eight recycling award winners at the annual New Jersey Recycling Symposium recently.
The recycling grant awards are performance-based, requiring specific documentation of total material recycled during calendar year 2003, the latest annual statistics available for the state.
In 2003, New Jersey generated 19.9 million tons of solid waste, which includes construction debris and scrap iron. Of that total, 10.4 million tons or 52 percent was recycled with 9.5 million tons sent for disposal. Of the 9.5 million tons disposed, 1.5 million or 8 percent of the total waste generated went to resource recovery facilities, 3.8 million or 20 percent was disposed at landfills located in New Jersey and 3.7 million or 19 percent was sent for out-of-state disposal.