Notice

Application Period for Municipal Recycling Program Performance Grant Applications under Act 101, Section 904 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988; Calendar Year 2023

DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Application Period for Municipal Recycling Program Performance Grant Applications under Act 101, Section 904 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988; Calendar Year 2023

The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) announces a request for applications from municipalities for recycling performance grant assistance for recycling programs under section 904 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 (Act 101) (53 P.S. § 4000.904). Municipalities include counties, cities, boroughs, incorporated towns, townships, home rule municipalities, their authorities, councils of governments, consortiums or similar entities established by two or more municipalities under 53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 23 Subchapter A (relating to intergovernmental cooperation). This application period is for eligible materials recycled and marketed in calendar year 2023.

Municipal Recycling Program Performance Grant (Performance Grant) funds will be awarded to municipalities based upon the weight of source-separated recyclable materials identified in section 1501(c)(1)(i) of Act 101 (53 P.S. § 4000.1501(c)(1)(i)) recovered by municipal recycling programs and the population of the municipality as determined by the most recent decennial census. Based on available funding for the calendar year 2023 Performance Grant program, the award formula will remain the same as last year. The average Statewide waste generation rate which is utilized in determining a municipality's recycling rate will be updated to 0.89 ton/person/year from 0.80 ton/person/year based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Advancing Sustainable Materials Management report that was released in 2020. This change is attributed to the progression of the economy as well as the population increase over the last 20 years. The Department utilizes the Statewide waste generation rate and the municipality's recycling rate in the grant award calculation.

For residential tonnage, municipalities that market some or all of their own material are not subject to the 20% residue deduction for those materials. ''Marketed'' means that the materials were sold to a manufacturer for the purposes of converting the recyclables into new product. Compensation/rebates from a collector or processor do not count as the marketing of materials.

Materials that go to a second-hand processor are subject to the 20% residue deduction—weight receipts from that entity cannot be considered as market receipts for the municipality (the processor cannot prorate marketed materials to one or more municipalities).

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