Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty announced the awarding of 230 grants worth $30 million to help finance municipal programs that give more than 10 million Pennsylvanians access to recycling.
“Recycling has proven to be a strong contributor to Pennsylvania’s economy, creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars in revenues,”
“This money will provide essential funding for communities that have mandated recycling programs while helping to support an industry that is growing from new opportunities in waste management technologies,” McGinty added.
Pennsylvania’s recycling program, created under Act 101 of 1988, mandated recycling in Pennsylvania’s larger municipalities, required counties to develop municipal waste management plans and created the Recycling Fund, supported by a $2 per ton tipping fee on all landfilled materials in the state to provide grants to offset local government expenses.
Recycling Development and Implementation Grants reimburse local governments for the cost of municipal recycling and composting programs.
In the Governor’s budget address last month he proposed an initiative to provide funds necessary to rescue key environmental programs while launching new efforts that aim to enhance the quality of life of Pennsylvanians and will help us win the competition to attract new business and jobs to our state. The initiative, Growing Greener II, will provide $25 million per year to the Recycling Fund to assist municipalities with recycling programs. The funds will help 42 municipalities newly mandated by Act 101 to recycle as a result of the 2000 federal census.
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