TIMES HERALD

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission (NMCRC) will receive almost $550,000 in performance grants for its recycling efforts during the calendar year 2008.

The announcement was made Friday, Dec. 4, at the Fourth Annual Legislative Luncheon by Edward J. Brandt, chairman of the Commission and chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Lower Gwynedd Township. “We’re really pleased with the efforts our 11 communities have made---and continue to make---in recycling,” Brandt said. “We hope that the grant money continues to grow. The more our residents and businesses recycle, the more money will come back to the townships and boroughs.”

The Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission sponsors a yearly legislative luncheon to keep area legislators informed of Commission recycling progress. The Commission gains important insights from the legislators about status of budgets and pending legislation that will impact funding for local recycling programs. The luncheon has been held in early December at the Franconia Heritage Restaurant for the past two years.

The grant money pays all the costs of data collection, grant preparation, DEP compliance requirements and recycling education for businesses and residents. The bulk of the grant (80% or more) is passed back to the member municipalities for use in their general funds. The individual municipalities also save staff time and costs of duplicating the Commission’s programs.

Brandt was particularly pleased by the cooperative spirit shown by the 11 communities who comprise the Commission. “The process is extremely cost effective. We submit one application, collect recycling data more efficiently and reduce the number of man hours necessary. This saves us and the state both time and money.”

State Representative Kate Harper (R- 61st District) and Bob Godshall (R- 53rd District) expressed support for the activities and success of the Recycling Commission. Rep. Harper said, “The Commission is a model of intermunicipal cooperation that other municipalities should follow. Working together reduces the costs and improves the recycling results.” She was a sponsor of legislation to extend the recycling fee to 2020 and of a provision to fund the removal of waste tire piles using a portion of the recycling funds for a three year period.

Rep. Godshall said he supports the extension of Pennsylvania’s recycling funding to 2020. Bill 1768 will continue the $2 per ton charge that all haulers pay for disposal of trash in landfills or waste to energy plants. This fee pays for the recycling grants and related programs administered by DEP. The $2 remains unchanged from its original passage by Act 101 in 1988.

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