Wayne Awarded $134K Grant To Reduce Waste, Promote Recycling

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne Township is one of a handful of New Jersey municipalities to get more than $100,000 from the state to support waste reduction and recycling programs.

In total, New Jersey is awarding nearly $16.2 million in grants to communities this year, the Department of Environmental Protection said. The grants were given based on each municipality's recycling performance in 2021.

Municipalities must use the money for various recycling initiatives that can include programs like sponsoring household hazardous waste collection, providing recycling receptacles in public places, or maintaining leaf composting.

Wayne will receive $134,607 as part of the grant, officials said.

In 2021, Wayne Township had an overall recycling rate of 47 percent and a municipal solid waste recycling rate of 38 percent. The township generated 157,878.20 total tons of waste and recycling in 2021, and 73,748 tons were recycled.

Passaic County had an overall recycling rate of 38 percent. Click here to see upcoming household hazardous waste collection dates around the county.

Grants are awarded through the state’s Recycling Enhancement Act and are funded through a $3 per ton surcharge on trash disposed statewide at solid waste facilities.

NJDEP then allocates that money back to municipalities, based on how much recycling each community reports accomplishing during a particular calendar year.

Overall in 2021, there was a statewide decrease in the recycling rate compared with 2020 data, and more trash disposed of.

The DEP said that New Jersey generated more than 22 million tons of waste material in 2021 — about 12 million tons of which was recycled, and 10 tons disposed. That represents a 54 percent recycling rate, a slight decrease from the year before.

Solid waste includes municipal waste, plus construction debris and other types of non-municipal waste.

When looking just at waste and recycling collected at the municipal level, the state generated just over 10 tons of material in 2021, according to the DEP report.

Municipalities reported disposing about 6.3 million tons of municipal solid waste, and recycling more than 3.7 million tons. That represents a municipal solid waste recycling rate of 37 percent.