Recycling Program, Managing Electronics Waste On DEP Citizens Advisory Council Agenda For Oct. 18

DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council is scheduled to meet on October 18 to take a deeper dive into Pennsylvania’s Municipal Recycling Program and talk about better ways to manage electronics waste.

The Council will also hear an update on agency activities by Acting Secretary Ramez Ziadeh.

A copy of DEP’s written report to Council on agency activities is also available.

Municipal Recycling Program

Larry Holley, Recycling Program Manager for DEP’s Bureau of Waste Management, will be presenting a detailed overview of the Municipal Recycling Program along with recommendations for expanding state efforts to reduce waste.

As Ali Tarquino Morris, Director of DEP’s Bureau of Waste Management noted in her presentation to Council on September 20, the trends in waste generation and recycling have been going in the wrong direction.

She reported the overall amount of waste generated in Pennsylvania has increased 8.3 percent between 2015 and 2021-- from 14.3 million tons to 15.6 million tons.

In 2019, the most recent year available, 5.25 million tons were recycled, which is roughly the same amount that was recycled in 2004-- 5.14 million tons.

Municipal waste generated in Pennsylvania has increased 10.1 percent-- 8.62 million tons in 2015 to 8.59 million tons in 2021.

Residual waste (industrial waste) generated in Pennsylvania has increased 7.1 percent-- from 2.99 million tons in 2015 to 3.22 million tons in 2021

The overall amount of waste being disposed in the state has increased 9.3 percent between 2015 to 2021-- 21.4 million tons to 23.6 million tons.

DEP’s paper also notes, “in the last two decades there has been approximately $188 million diverted [from the Recycling Fund] to other programs including Waste Tire Remediation, Growing Greener, Forest Lands Beautification and General Fund augmentations. 

“The most recent diversion of $50 million to the General Fund has greatly impeded DEP’s ability to implement new plans and new ideas. 

“Stated simply, most of the recommendations in this report cannot be accomplished since adequate resources no longer exist.”

A paper prepared by DEP makes these recommendations to expand recycling efforts--

-- Diversion of organic waste from landfills by funding composting and anaerobic digestion projects.

-- Keep recycling funds in the Recycling Fund.

-- Support smaller, dual-stream and commingled waste recycling facilities.

-- Create Research and Development grants to invest in emerging technologies.

-- Fund regional public Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) to create competition and

increase stability in the cost of processing recyclables.

-- Reinstitute a Waste Planning Section to evaluate new technologies, product evaluations

and the consumption of recyclable materials in Pennsylvania.

-- Oversee the development of a comprehensive education program to improve the quality

of materials collected.

-- Expand access to recycling through convenience centers. Ensure all Pennsylvanians

have convenient access to all recycling options.

Electronics Waste Recycling

Larry Holley will also present a white paper DEP prepared making recommendations on better managing Pennsylvania’s electronic waste.

Several legislative hearings have documented the fact the state’s electronic waste recycling program just isn’t working, and that hasn’t changed since a 2017 Senate hearing.  Read more here.

DEP’s paper says for years the 2010 law that requires manufacturer-sponsored recycling has left many Pennsylvanians “frustrated by their inability to conveniently and affordably recycle used electronic devices (covered devices).” 

“With insufficient recycling options available, the result is many covered devices, mostly televisions, are being illegally dumped and stockpiled across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. They can be found at municipal buildings, along roadsides, and even on river banks.

“The current statutory scheme for covered devices does not provide all residents with proper disposal options as electronic waste collectors are not required to be available for the entire year and do not find it profitable to operate in many parts of the state.

“At the same time, it is illegal to dispose of electronics in landfills. This combination has exacerbated the unintended consequence of illegal dumping, which contributes to neighborhood blight, pollutes soil and groundwater, and can pose health risks to residents.”

DEP recommends the following changes be made in the Covered Device Recycling Act--

-- Metrics should shift from weight-based goals to a convenience system that uses a return or convenience share. This will ensure that residents have access to free recycling and that all materials can be collected and recycled.

-- Permanent collection sites should be established in every county with a minimum operating schedule. This will ensure availability for drop-offs is consistent and convenient to the public. Permanent, on-going collection sites should reduce costs in the long term as compared to special one-day events. The entire commonwealth should be covered, not just the 85% currently covered by CDRA recycling programs.

-- Collection sites should be required to take every type of electronic device covered by the statute. The statutes should also clarify that no charge for collection, transportation or recycling can be assessed or passed on to local governments or residents by recyclers, manufacturers and retailers.

-- The ban on landfill disposal of electronics should continue.

-- The concept of “retrievable cells” should not be allowed because of the potential for negative environmental impacts and the conflict with the definition of “recycling” in Act 101.

-- Recycling collection, transportation and processing should be managed by manufacturers or by local governments, not by DEP.

-- If recycling is managed by manufacturers, the obligation to collect should not be a hard target based on weight, because changes in technology have made new products lighter than the old products that remain uncollected. A “return share” system as described above or a market share system that does not include a hard target should be added to any manufacturer program. A manufacturer must be responsible for the recycling of every type of covered device collected, regardless of whether it manufactured the device.

-- If collection is performed by local governments, then manufacturers should be required to contribute funding for collection, transportation, and recycling. This could be determined by “return share” or market share as described above.

-- DEP should not be required to engage in statewide contracting, which would require a significant increase in staff and a transformation of its current role.

-- Funding for collection, transportation and recycling should not come from a tax or fee on consumers or local governments.

-- Enforcement authority could be improved by creating more explicit standards for compliance and implementing penalties for non-compliant actors. The option to implement a sales ban on non-compliant manufacturers should also be considered as an avenue to increase program compliance.

Click Here for a copy of the white paper.

Also on the agenda for discussion is a Transition Paper Council hopes to present to the next Governor identifying key issues needing attention within DEP.

Public Comments

Individuals interested in providing public comments during the meeting must sign up prior to the start of the meeting by contacting Keith Salador, Executive Director, ksalador@pa.gov or 717-787-8171.

Attending The Meeting

The meeting will be held in Room 105 Rachel Carson Building starting at 12:30 p.m.  Click Here to register to attend via WebEx or Conference Call-In: 1-415-655-0003 Conference ID#: 2630 012 1679.  

For more information and available handouts, visit the DEP Citizens Advisory Council webpage.  Questions should be directed to Keith Salador, Executive Director, ksalador@pa.gov or 717-787-8171.

Related Articles:

-- Senate Hearing: E-Waste Recycling Law Broken, 5.1 Million CRTs, TVs Waiting To Be Recycled In PA

[Posted: October 6, 2022]  PA Environment Digest