Kathleen McGinty, with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has awarded more than $3.76 million in Recycling Performance Grants to 181 Pennsylvania communities for their recycling efforts in 2002.
“These grants reward a job well done by communities,” McGinty said. “Recycling has a direct impact on Pennsylvania’s economy by conserving natural resources and landfill space, providing jobs and generating billions of dollars in revenues. I encourage local officials to use this money to support even stronger municipal recycling programs that will divert the maximum amount of material from the waste stream.”
DEP awarded $18.8 million in Recycling Performance Grants to 715 communities last year for recycling efforts in 2001. The grants are financed by the Recycling Fund, which is supported by a $2 per ton fee on all materials disposed of in landfills in Pennsylvania. Act 175 of 2002 extended the Recycling Fund fee through 2008.