HARTFORD - Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Wednesday urged the legislature to act on his proposal to double the state’s recycling rate and transform an outmoded system of trash disposal by adopting a more modern, cost-effective, and environmentally sound materials management approach.
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“Forty
years ago, Connecticut became a national leader in waste management by
ending the land filling of trash and opening our six waste-to-energy
facilities,” Malloy said.
“These plants have served us well, but it is now time to move our
system squarely into the 21st Century by adopting legislation
that will allow us to strengthen our focus on recycling and recapture
more of the valuable materials from our waste stream.
This in turn will save taxpayers and businesses millions of dollars a
year in disposal costs and better protect our air quality and the
environment.”
Among other changes, the governor’s proposal:
- Sets a 60 percent target rate for reducing solid waste disposal by increasing source reduction, recycling, and reuse. The current reported recycling rate is under 30 percent.
- Reshapes the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA) – a quasi-public entity that owns and operates the waste-to-energy plant in Hartford – into a leaner organization focused on promoting innovation in materials management.
- Creates a process to explore the re-purposing of the CRRA facility, Connecticut’s largest, oldest, and least efficient waste-to-energy plant, to recover more materials of value from trash and to provide better, cheaper service for member communities.
- Creates “RecycleCT” – a statewide education initiative to promote recycling, much the way “EnergizeCT” is promoting energy efficiency and renewables.
The legislation,
Senate Bill 27 – An Act Concerning Connecticut's Recycling and Materials Management Strategy,
was reported out of the General Assembly’s Environment Committee and
Government Administration and Elections Committee with strong bipartisan
backing and
now awaits action in the Senate.
Malloy noted the proposal builds on the success of two “producer
responsibility” programs now operating in Connecticut that have
established industry financed systems
for the collection and recycling of obsolete electronics equipment and
used paint – and on a pioneering approach to the diversion of food
wastes and other organic materials from the waste stream through the use
of anerobic digestors.
Business
and residents in Connecticut currently produce approximately 3.2
million tons of municipal solid waste each year.
Approximately 64.5 percent of this trash is incinerated at the six waste-to-energy facilities, almost 24.8 percent is reported diverted from disposal through recycling, 9.9 percent is shipped out of state, and 0.8 percent is landfilled in Connecticut.
Approximately 64.5 percent of this trash is incinerated at the six waste-to-energy facilities, almost 24.8 percent is reported diverted from disposal through recycling, 9.9 percent is shipped out of state, and 0.8 percent is landfilled in Connecticut.
It is estimated that more than $10 million in valuable commodities are burned at the waste-to-energy facilities each year.
It
has also been estimated that cities and towns and their taxpayers would
save $35 million a year if the recycling rate was moved to just 40 percent.
Recycling is also a growth industry
that creates jobs – experts say that for every 10,000 tons of waste
generated recycling creates 36 jobs.
Malloy said the bill – which was based on the recommendations of his
Modernizing Recycling Working Group – has the strong support of municipal leaders and public interest groups across the state.
“Making a move toward a 21st
Century system of waste management is critical to Connecticut’s
environmental and economic health,” said state Sen. Ed Meyer, D-Guilford,
who serves as Senate chair of the Environment Committee.
“Connecticut
now recycles only 25 percent of its solid waste, and we need to do better.
Upgrading our state’s recycling capabilities will create new, green jobs
and help conserve millions of dollars by recycling
reusable materials. This is all on top of the great environmental
benefit it brings to our state when we cut down on incineration and
other less clean forms of waste disposal.”
State
Rep. Linda M. Gentile, D-Ansonia, House chair of the
Environment Committee, said, “This bill is important in raising the bar
for increased recycling. With
diligence, hitting these goals will save money for both the state and
taxpayers and opens the door to the creation of more ‘green’ jobs.”
“This
proposal is the result of countless hours of thoughtful analysis and
deliberation by municipal officials, commercial haulers, waste facility
representatives and environmental
groups who served on task forces and working committees over the past
two years,” said Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra. “Their collective
research, compilation of opinions from public hearings, and knowledge
from first-hand experience has been critical to crafting
this important legislation.”
“Just
as we transitioned away from land-filling 40 years ago, now is the
time to transition away from incineration,” said Abe Scarr, Director of
the Connecticut Public Interest
Group (ConnPIRG). “Connecticut burns more trash per person than any
other state in the country and by wasting less and recycling more, we
protect public health, save taxpayers money, and boost the economy.”
“Incinerators
and other waste facilities are disproportionately placed in low-income
and communities of color. This environmental injustice exposes these
communities to numerous
adverse health effects from the toxic particulate matter released
during the incineration process,” said Sharon Lewis, Executive Director
of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, which has
campaigned for years for alternatives to incineration.
“CCEJ is encouraged by the opportunity to replace the incinerator with
recycling infrastructure and good, green jobs for our community."
This is a press release from Malloy's office.
