BERKELEY – Berkeley Township recently received a Recycling Tonnage Grant in the amount of $82,078.44 from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), announced Mayor Carmen Amato Jr.
“We are extremely pleased to have received this grant, which was the 4th highest grant award in Ocean County. This is one reason I take every opportunity to promote the importance of recycling to our residents,” said Mayor Amato.
Awarded through the NJ Recycling Enhancement Act, recycling tonnage grants are funded by a $3 surcharge on trash disposed at solid waste facilities all over the state. This money circulates back into local communities based on their recycling accomplishments throughout the year.
“Each of us can have a significant impact on the environment simply by recycling every day,” Commissioner McCabe said. “Recycling helps keep our communities clean, generates revenue and jobs, and lessens the amount of trash going to landfills. These grants will help communities continue the important work of promoting the benefits of recycling and having a positive impact on New Jersey’s quality of life.”
The Recycling Tonnage Grant will be used to improve the community’s recycling rate by sponsoring household hazardous waste collection events, providing recycling receptacles and pickup in public places, maintaining leaf composting operations, doing educational outreach about the importance of recycling, or implementing curbside recycling pickup programs, according to the township.
“I would like to remind Berkeley Township residents of the importance of household recycling. As you know mandatory recycling became law in 1987. In 2017, Berkeley Township collected 4,328 tons of recyclables, which is up 25% from the same time four years ago. The recyclables that are collected are brought to the Ocean County Recycling Center,” added Mayor Amato.
Amato noted that single stream recycling has made things easier in recent years. Single stream recycling lumps bottles, cans, newspaper, mixed paper, and cardboard in the same receptacle. Acceptable bottles include:
- Plastic containers where the neck is smaller than the base of the container
- Cans: aluminum, steel, tin and empty aerosol cans.
- Paper: newspapers, mixed papers, corrugated cardboard.
“Let’s all “pitch in” and do our part to recycle, reduce land fill costs and generate additional revenue,” said Mayor Amato.
