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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
06/10/2024 05:10 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?SPick=20230&chamber=H&cosponId=38472
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House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: December 8, 2022 04:22 PM
From: Representative MaryLouise Isaacson
To: All House members
Subject: Municipal Waste Recycling Fee
 
Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s largest waste importers, accepting both municipal waste and residual waste from other states across the country. Waste management in our state is driven by market forces, and a blend of history, geography, law, economics, and commerce has created Pennsylvania’s “trashy” reputation.
 
The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 established statewide recycling requirements in Pennsylvania. Under this act, landfill and incinerator operators are required to pay a $2 per-ton recycling fee on waste received at their landfills. Revenue from the fee is allocated to municipalities for the planning, processing, resource recovery, and recycling of solid waste.
 
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, more than 11.6 million residents of the Commonwealth currently have access to recycling programs and services. Of these residents, nearly 79 percent have access to recycling through roughly 1,050 curbside pickup programs located statewide. There are an additional 870 drop-off programs offered for residents living in rural areas and communities.
 
Unfortunately, because the recycling fee has not been increased since the enactment of this law over 30 years ago, many communities now struggle to keep up with the rising costs associated with recycling programs. As a result, more and more recyclable items are being sent to incinerators and landfills.
 
To help address this issue, I will be introducing legislation to increase the recycling fee that landfill operators pay from $2 per ton to $5 per ton on waste received at their landfills. Due to the fact that the fee has not been increased in over three decades, this proposed fee equates to about a $1 increase per decade.
 
I believe that the people of Pennsylvania deserve proper recycling programs and services. Please consider joining me in support of this important measure.


Introduced as HB223