This Bergen Borough Recycled Nearly 100,000 Tons Of Waste In One Year

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Bergen County municipality is set to receive more than $100,000 for its recycling performance in 2020, when nearly 95,000 tons of materials were diverted from the waste stream.

Paramus recycled more than any other Bergen County city or town in 2020, and, as such, is receiving performance-based funding of more than $126,000 to enhance waste reduction and recycling programs, according to state data and the Department of Environmental Protection.

In 2020 (the most recent year for which data is available), the Paramus' recycling rate — the proportion of waste that is recycled — was 57%, while Bergen County's rate was 48%.

Out of the 166,000 tons of materials (municipal solid waste and non-municipal solid waste) generated, the borough recycled 94,988 tons. The 2020 volume eclipsed the next-highest in Bergen County, by more than 32,000 tons; the runner-up was Hackensack.

The $126,000 investment, part of $16.2 million in state grants, is awarded through the state's Recycling Enhancement Act and funded through a $3 per-ton surcharge on trash disposed statewide at solid waste facilities, the state DEP said.

As required under the act, the DEP returns 60% of that money to municipalities based upon how much recycling each community reports accomplishing during the calendar year. The remaining funds are divided, with 30% going to counties, 5% to colleges and universities, and 5% for administrative costs, the state said.

Municipalities must use the grants to reduce waste and promote recycling, the state said.

“This annual grant program provides incentive for communities to strengthen their municipal recycling initiatives, encourage children and adults to keep our environment clean, and provide assistance in helping to reduce the local tax burden while also improving quality of life," DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said.