New Jersey was rightfully proud in 1987 to become the first state in the nation to require its residents and businesses to separate and recycle paper, glass and plastics that otherwise would have ended up in landfills and incinerators.
Benefiting from public support and well-funded local and county education and collection programs, state-recycling totals hit a high mark in 1997 when 61 percent of all solid waste was separated for beneficial new uses.
In the process, scores of new private industry recycling businesses were created. They offered jobs to unemployed people and collected thousands of tons of material that were used to create new products, saving millions of dollars worth of natural resources and energy in the process.
In 1996, the Legislature unwisely allowed funding for recycling programs to expire. The result? Without continued education and enforcement, New Jerseyans became lax at home and at work about keeping reusable materials out of the trash can. In the past seven years, recycling has slipped an astounding 33 percent and is expected to continue to drop without a concerted effort to reverse the decline.
Fortunately, environmental leaders have recognized the need to revitalize municipal and county recycling programs, to train professional recycling coordinators, and to re-educate state residents and future generations about recycling's enormous environmental and economic benefits.
Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, has sponsored S-2615 and Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, has authored A-4074 to get recycling back on track. Their bills would tax waste generated in the state and waste coming into New Jersey from New York and other locations. The money would go to counties and municipalities as grants that would award higher amounts to programs that generate higher recycling tonnage results.
Recycling cuts waste, saves energy, creates jobs and gives responsible individuals and businesses a way to reduce their waste-disposal costs. Despite all the benefits, the legislation is expected to attract opposition — primarily from some businesses that prefer to focus on recycling's short-term costs rather than its long-term savings.
Write or phone your state senator and Assembly members. Tell them you support recycling and urge them to vote for these bills to restore funding for successful programs.
Dominick D'Altilio, Ridgefield, is president of the Association of New Jersey Recyclers, Bridgewater.
