Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a)
Eligible applicants for Recycling Tonnage Grants shall be limited to
municipalities and/or counties in the State of New Jersey, except that a
municipality or county may, upon vote of the appropriate governing body,
authorize a regional recycling coalition to apply on its own behalf, provided
that:
1. All materials recycled within a
municipality or county and claimed for the purposes of this Act shall be
submitted on one application form.
2. The applicant has conformed to all
restrictions, prohibitions and obligations of the Act as set forth therein and
in this subchapter, including but not limited to the following:
i. Grant funds shall not be used for the
purchase, construction or operation of equipment or machinery that will be used
to bale waste paper or to shear, bale or shred ferrous or non-ferrous
metals.
ii. No municipality shall
enact an ordinance which requires that recyclable materials already collected
and recycled under a contract between a commercial source and a recycling
business or industry be collected instead by the municipality or its agent, if
such contract is in existence on the effective date of such
ordinance.
(b)
Application for Recycling Tonnage Grants shall be accepted by the Department
between January 1 and April 30 of each grant year. Applications shall be made
on forms provided by the Department, or electronic means as approved by the
Department and shall be submitted to:
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Sustainable Waste Management
Bureau of Solid Waste Planning and Licensing
Mail Code 401-02C
PO Box 420
401 East State Street
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0420
(c) Applicants shall be entitled to receive
Recycling Tonnage Grants based on the tonnage of recyclable material generated
by and recovered for recycling from residential and/or commercial sources
within the municipality.
1. Recyclable
material generated by residential and commercial sources shall include:
i. All types and grades of paper and
paperboard products;
ii. All types
and grades of glass;
iii. Ferrous
and non-ferrous metals;
iv.
Textiles;
v. Food;
vi. Yard materials;
vii. Plastics;
viii. Rubber products;
ix. Used oil; and
x. Additional solid or liquid materials which
are non-hazardous which are approved by the Department upon application by the
applicant.
2. Only
recyclable material which is collected in accordance with all applicable
regulation and permit procedures, and documented in accordance with (d) below
using one or more of the following procedures shall be considered to be
generated within the applicant's jurisdiction and eligible for the purposes of
this grant:
i. Curbside pick-up: When the
recyclable materials are separated by the source and collected at the curbside
or on the premises by a public agency or its contractor, a commercial recycling
business, or a volunteer agency, the material shall be credited to the
municipality in which the collection occurs.
ii. Drop-off centers: When the recyclable
materials are separated by the source and delivered to a municipal or volunteer
drop-off center, the material shall be credited to the municipality in which
the center is located. However, when the center is sponsored by a county or
other regional agency and is specifically designated to serve more than one
municipality, the operator(s) of the center shall allocate the quantity of
material recycled among the participating municipalities based on the best
available data.
iii. Transfer
stations and resource recovery facilities: In order for materials separated
from mixed solid waste at a transfer station or resource recovery facility to
qualify, the approved district solid waste district management plan shall
specifically designate such facility to be the recipient of an applicant's
solid waste, and shall specifically require that the separation and recovery of
recyclables shall occur prior to fuel production or disposal. In these
instances, the applicants which generate the material shall be proportionally
credited for recycling tonnage based on the best available data.
iv. Markets: When recyclable materials are
separated and delivered by the source directly to a market, the municipality in
which such materials are generated shall receive credit for the tonnage
recycled.
3. Recyclable
material which is generated and collected as specified in (c)1 and (c)2 above
shall not be eligible for the purposes of this grant if it is:
i. Landfilled;
ii. Dumped;
iii. Burned or otherwise used for direct
energy recovery;
iv. Converted to a
fuel or fuel product, except as specifically permitted by the Department upon
application by an applicant; or
v.
Subject to a deposit or tax imposed by the county or municipality to ensure its
return to a collection center.
(d) The tonnage of recycled materials claimed
by the an applicant shall be accurately reported to the Department in
accordance with the provisions of
N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.13. Records verifying
tonnage claimed shall be maintained by the applicant for a minimum of five
years following each grant period. For the purpose of this grant, the following
records shall be acceptable subject to review and approval by the Department on
a case-by-case basis:
1. Copies of sales or
weight slips showing the type and quantity of recyclable materials delivered,
the name of the collector, processor or converter to whom the materials were
sold or delivered and the date of sale or delivery of the material;
2. A written statement from the commercial
generator supported by verifiable information including the type and quantity
of material sold to the collector or market for recycling during the grant
period, the name and address of the collector or market and the date of the
sale of the material;
3. A written
statement from a market, transfer station or resource recovery facility
declaring the amount of recyclable material originating in and obtained from
each municipality and explaining the procedure used to allocate materials among
contributing municipalities; or
4.
In the case of food and yard materials converted to and used for feed, compost,
mulch or fertilizer, a written estimate of the quantity of materials collected
and recycled and an explanation of the procedure used by the municipality to
estimate the tonnage.
(e)
The size of the Recycling Grants to be awarded to each municipality shall be
determined in the following manner:
1. Grants
awarded shall be based on the number of tons of eligible recyclable material
sold or distributed in accordance with (c) and (d) above during the preceding
calendar year and shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula,
provided that no municipality shall receive more than $ 10.00 per ton:
Award = R x Tm/TS
where Award = Dollar value of award to a given municipality
or county for the preceding calendar year
| R | = | Total dollar amount allocated to
the Recycling Grant Fund as of |
| January 1, in the year in which the application for a
Recycling Grant is submitted. |
| Ts | = | Total tonnage of eligible
recyclable material collected within |
| the State during the preceding calendar year and
claimed by all municipalities and counties. |
| Tm | = | Total tonnage of eligible
recyclable material recycled within a |
| given municipality or county during the preceding
calendar year. |
(f) Applications shall be made on forms
provided by the Department and shall include the following:
1. The name and address of the
applicant;
2. A detailed breakdown
of the materials collected, including type and quantity;
3. Certifications regarding:
i. Tonnage recycled;
ii. Origin of materials; and
iii. Non-diversion from a pre-existing
commercial recycling program.
4. Other information as required by the
Department.
(g) Recycling
Tonnage Grants may be credited to the general treasury of the applicant and may
be used for recycling activities or other purposes subject to the restrictions
in (a)2 above.
