Over 1K 1-Pound Propane Camping Cylinders Collected In Hammonasset

MADISON, CT – Over 1,000 one-pound propane camping cylinders were collected and recycled at Hammonasset Beach State Park Campground in Madison.

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Worthington Industries collected 2,000 one-pound propane camping cylinders during the Cylinder Recycling Pilot Program.

“I am excited by the results of the Hammonasset pilot program,” Connecticut State House Environment Committee Chair Representative Joseph Gresko (D-Stratford) said. “In addition to properly and safely recycling thousands of cylinders, we demonstrated that free, convenient and accessible collection can influence and change behaviors. We are positioning Connecticut for a higher impactful program.”

Based on the Hammonasset 2023 pilot program and in preparation for a broader rollout, Worthington Industries plans to continue the program at Hammonasset Beach State Park Campground in 2024 and will also replicate it at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme, Conn.

DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said DEEP is thrilled with the results of the pilot program at Hammonasset State Park Campground.

“We look forward to hosting the program at Hammonasset again next year and expanding to Rocky Neck, and we will work closely with the Cylinder Collective in the important months ahead for a robust and seamless launch in 2025.”

In addition to Worthington Industries, nine other residential gas cylinder producers plan to implement the recycling program statewide by Oct. 1, 2025.

Jennifer Heaton-Jones, executive director of Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority, said Cylinders collected from Hammonasset are sent for processing at a vendor specializing in recovering the gas and recycling the metal. Cylinders collected during the pilot are currently being recycled at a 100 percent rate.