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Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission members discuss recycling issues with area legislators
Edward J. Brandt (left), Chairman of the Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission, thanks State Representative Bob Godshall (R-District 53) for his remarks on delayed payment of recycling performance grant awards earned by area municipalities. The eleven municipalities applied for a grant of $535,000 based on their combined recycling tonnage in 2008 and $550,000 for 2009.
Members of the Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission (NMCRC) discussed recycling concerns with area legislators at its annual legislative luncheon held recently in Franconia. Following in-depth discussions, State legislators in attendance said that they would make every effort to alleviate the problems the NMCRC is having with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
In his opening remarks NMCRC Chairman Edward J. Brandt said the "DEP continues to hold back recycling performance grant money that our communities have earned." Brandt continued, "This is unfair to our communities and makes it difficult to develop municipal budgets when we don’t know when funds are expected to arrive."
One of the more contentious issues is the limited burning of yard waste. Rep. Robert W. Godshall (R-District 53) said that he will consider introducing another amendment to Act 101 that clarifies the yard waste issue. "We passed, almost unanimously, an amendment that specifically prohibited the DEP from holding up recycling grants because a municipality allows the limited burning of yard waste. Since the DEP cannot recognize the plain language of that amendment, we now need another amendment to make it absolutely clear that these grants should not be held up," he said.
Representative Kate Harper (R-District 61) supported Godshall’s observations and added that she plans to re-introduce a bill to help larger counties like Montgomery County pay for their recycling coordinator.
"There is a cap on the amount the state will pay to each county for this position. Many counties don’t even have a recycling coordinator," she said. "Others like Montgomery County have active full-time positions with lots of responsibilities. Raising the cap based on county populations would provide more overall support for large county recycling programs." Other legislators attending the meeting included Rep. Todd Stevens (R-District 151), Rep. Marcy Toepel (R-District 147) and her legislative assistant Bill Bushnell. Rep. Matthew D. Bradford (R-District 70) was represented by his legislative assistant, Mike Getzfread.
All legislators and aides attending the luncheon agreed to look into the announced plans by the DEP to retain 40% of future recycling performance grant awards. They indicated there was nothing in the law which allows this kind of action to occur. Retention of this grant money by DEP will further hamper the abilities of municipalities to develop and maintain recycling programs that now include leaf and yard waste collections.
The municipalities represented by the Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission include: Ambler Borough, Franconia Township, Hatfield Borough, Hatfield Township, Lower Gwynedd Township, Lower Salford Township, Montgomery Township, North Wales Borough, Souderton Borough, Telford Borough, and Towamencin Township. The NMCRC meets at 4:30 P.M. on the first Tuesday of every month at Souderton Borough Hall. The public is invited to attend.
Local Recycling Group Receives Waste Watchers Award
Montgomery County Recycling Coordinator Chris Kaasmann (center) presents the 2010 Waste Watcher Award to the Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission (NMCRC) at its October meeting in Souderton Borough Hall. Receiving the award are (left) Jeff Dietterich, Vice Chairman of the NMCRC and representative of Franconia Township and (right) Edward Brandt, Chairman of the NMCRC and representative of Lower Gwynedd Township.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (October 26, 2010) – The Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission (Commission) has received the prestigious Waste Watcher’s Award for 2010 from the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP). The announcement was made today by the Ed Brandt, chairman of the Commission and chairman of the board of supervisors of Lower Gwynedd Township.
“We at the Commission couldn’t be more pleased that PROP has recognized the work that the Commission has been doing,” Brandt said. “The Recycling Commission is one of Pennsylvania’s most outstanding recycling programs/projects.”
The Waste Watcher awards are given to recycling, waste reduction, reuse and composting programs in Pennsylvania that have exhibited exemplary performance. This year, the Northern Commission is being recognized for going above and beyond what is mandated under Act 101 for their eleven member communities and programs.
Act 101 – the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act – has helped generate significant economic and environmental benefits for over 20 years. As a result, recycling has become a billion dollar industry in Pennsylvania. With each passing year, there is a steady increase in the amount of collected recyclables and the number of jobs created by the industry.
“Recycling has saved precious resources and energy, limited greenhouse emissions and other air and water pollutants,” Brandt continued. “This growth and success is the result of a serious commitment to recycling by individuals, businesses, institutions and multi-municipal organizations like the Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission.”
The Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission is composed of eleven member communities with a total population in excess of 115,000. They include Ambler Borough, Franconia Township, Hatfield Borough, Hatfield Township, Lower Salford Township, Lower Gwynedd Township, Montgomery Township, North Wales Borough, Souderton Borough, Telford Borough and Towamencin Township. The Commission provides services for the eleven member municipalities that help them meet of Act 101 requirements. The Commission recognizes ‘Excellence in Recycling’ by local businesses, groups and individuals, prepares recycling educational materials, provides financial support for SAVE and other school recycling clubs, and arranged for residential leaf and yard waste drop-off at the Barnside Farm Compost Facility.
Elected officials support Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission recycling efforts; chairman credits cooperation for success
December 7, 2009
The Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission (NMCRC) will receive almost $550,000 in performance grants for its recycling efforts during the calendar year 2008. The announcement was made Friday (Dec. 4) at the Fourth Annual Legislative Luncheon by Edward J. Brandt, chairman of the Commission and chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Lower Gwynedd Township. “We’re really pleased with the efforts our 11 communities have made---and continue to make---in recycling,” Brandt said. “We hope that the grant money continues to grow. The more our residents and businesses recycle, the more money will come back to the townships and boroughs.”
The Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission sponsors a yearly legislative luncheon to keep area legislators informed of Commission recycling progress. The Commission gains important insights from the legislators about status of budgets and pending legislation that will impact funding for local recycling programs. The luncheon has been held in early December at the Franconia Heritage Restaurant for the past two years.
The grant money pays all the costs of data collection, grant preparation, DEP compliance requirements and recycling education for businesses and residents. The bulk of the grant (80% or more) is passed back to the member municipalities for use in their general funds. The individual municipalities also save staff time and costs of duplicating the Commission’s programs.
Brandt was particularly pleased by the cooperative spirit shown by the 11 communities who comprise the Commission. “The process is extremely cost effective. We submit one application, collect recycling data more efficiently and reduce the number of man hours necessary. This saves us and the state both time and money.”
State Representative Kate Harper (R- 61st District) and Bob Godshall (R- 53rd District) expressed support for the activities and success of the Recycling Commission. Rep. Harper said, “The Commission is a model of intermunicipal cooperation that other municipalities should follow. Working together reduces the costs and improves the recycling results.” She was a sponsor of legislation to extend the recycling fee to 2020 and of a provision to fund the removal of waste tire piles using a portion of the recycling funds for a three year period.
Rep. Godshall said he supports the extension of Pennsylvania’s recycling funding to 2020. Bill 1768 will continue the $2.00 per ton charge that all haulers pay for disposal of trash in landfills or waste to energy plants. This fee pays for the recycling grants and related programs administered by DEP. The $2.00 remains unchanged from its original passage by Act 101 in 1988. Another provision in the Bill that extends the recycling fee is opposed by trash haulers and many in the legislature including Godshall. It allows all municipalities within a mile of a landfill or waste to energy facility the right to add the same enforcement powers as the host municipality. “If each municipality independently selects different times and truck routes, it may make it impossible to get the trash to a given disposal facility,” said Rep. Godshall. “No one opposes the recycling fee extension, but the add ons complicate the issue.”
The Bill is in the Senate waiting to be scheduled for a vote.
Representatives of other area legislators attended the Legislative Luncheon. State Senator Stewart Greenleaf (R- 12) was represented by his Chief of Staff, Pat Beadling. State Senator Bob Mensch (R- 24) was represented by Danielle Bodnar and State Representative Matt Bradford (D- 70) was represented by his Chief of Staff, Steven Morris. All the elected officials attending the luncheon represent portions of the eleven municipalities in the NMCRC.
The Northern Montgomery County Recycling Commission is composed of eleven member communities with a total population in excess of 115,000. They include Ambler Borough, Franconia Township, Hatfield Borough, Hatfield Township, Lower Salford Township, Lower Gwynedd Township, Montgomery Township, North Wales Borough, Souderton Borough, Telford Borough and Towamencin Township. The Commission meets at 4:30 P.M. on the first Tuesday of every month at Souderton Borough Hall. The public is invited to attend.
NMCRC launches redesigned website
December 4, 2009
The NMCRC's redesigned website was launched on December 4, 2009, at the Commission's Fourth Annual Legislative Luncheon. The new site lists recent news, dates of upcoming public meetings, leaf and yard waste collection schedules, and information on how and what to recycle. The Commission hopes this site will be a useful resource for anyone interested in learning more about recycling or looking for recycling information specific to any of the Commission's member municipalities.
The new site is located at http://northmontcorecycle.com/. Please update your bookmarks and links to the new address.