Recycling Proposal Backed

Under a pact released Jan. 5 by the Recycling Public Advisory Council, findings from the study will be taken to public meetings in all three counties. Options and draft legislation are due within four months.

The work would expand on a consultant's report for the council released late last year that found curbside recycling possible for northern Delaware suburbs at little to no additional cost.

Recycling council members endorsed the study Monday. Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the solid waste authority have signed a memorandum of agreement on the plan.

Pasquale Canzano, the authority's COO, said findings in the northern Delaware study and resistance to a proposed expansion of Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington spurred the agreement to consider mandatory statewide recycling. Northern Delaware, where recycling is most common, now recovers only about 6 percent of residential wastes, far below the national goal of 35 percent and well behind rates in neighboring states, according to a state consultant.

"There was a lot of input from people saying, 'Why aren't we doing more recycling?' " Canzano said during a council meeting. "We got that message loud and clear."

The authority in late 2002 proposed a $66 million repair and expansion of Cherry Island, Delaware's busiest landfill. Some environmental groups and lawmakers criticized the plan, saying improvements in Delaware's low recycling rate could reduce or delay the need for a landfill expansion.

Recycling council chairman Paul Wilkinson said informal talks on the study have been under way for months. He added that council members expect regular updates on the study, and would continue independent evaluations of recycling options for the state.

Under state law, the solid waste authority has responsibility for landfills, state solid waste plans and recycling. DNREC oversees the compliance with federal and state environmental and waste management laws. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner created the advisory council in 2000 to help DNREC and the authority measure and expand waste recycling.

The authority operates a statewide network of Recycle Delaware centers where residents can drop off sorted bottles, cans, glass and other materials. Collections at the centers totaled about 18,700 tons in 2002, compared with more than 850,000 tons of wastes deposited in landfills statewide. Although the agency recovered about $676,000 through the sale of recyclable goods, the operation required more than $3.8 million in subsidies. Delaware Online