The Senate Tuesday unanimously passed Senate Bill 646 (Killion-R-Delaware) that would prevent a funding crisis in the state’s Recycling Program by eliminating the expiration date for the Act 101 $2 per ton recycling fee on waste disposed in Pennsylvania.
DEP has already stopped accepting new applications for local recycling implementation grants until the fee issue is resolved by the General Assembly. The fee was due to sunset on January 1, 2020.
The recycling grants are critical to supporting local and county curbside and drop-off recycling programs that provide 94 percent of the state’s population with access to recycling their household waste.
The $2/ton fee is projected to bring in about $38 million in FY 2016-17, however, the General Assembly used $9 million of that revenue to balance the state’s General Fund budget (page H69).
The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, PA Resources Council, PA Environmental Council and many other groups are supporting reauthorization of the fee.
The bill was referred to the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee for action. A Senate Fiscal Note and summary is available.
For more information on Act 101 and recycling in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s Recycling In PA webpage.
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