Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Program
P.O. Box 414
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0414
Tel: 609-984-3438
Fax: 609-777-0769
Dear Freeholder Director or Chairman:
The Department of Environmental Protection
(Department) is pleased to inform you that the Commissioner formally adopted
the Updated Statewide Solid Waste Management Plan (State Plan) on January 3,
2006. The State Plan provides the framework and vision necessary for all levels
of government in the state to understand the current challenge of solid waste
management and fulfill their responsibilities under the Solid Waste Management
Act (Act), N.J.S.A. 13:1E-1 et seq.
Pursuant to the Act, New JerseyÕs twenty-one
counties, and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, have the responsibility
for developing solid waste management plans consistent with the StateÕs goals
and objectives. As noted in the
State Plan, each county or district shall, within one year of the adoption of
the State Plan (January 3, 2007), adopt and submit to the Department, an
updated district solid waste plan. The plan update must demonstrate consistency
with the State Plan. Further, district plans shall reiterate the district plan
requirements contained in N.J.S.A. 13:1E-21. Specifically, revised plan
updates shall include, but not be limited to, the following components:
1) Designation of the department, unit or committee of the county government (or district in the case of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission) to supervise the implementation of the district plan;
2) An inventory of the quantity of solid waste generated within the district for the ten-year period commencing with the adoption of the updated solid waste management plan;
3)
An inventory of all solid waste and recycling facilities (lot and block
and street address)
including approved waste types and amounts, hours of operation and, in
the case of solid waste facilities, approved truck routes;
4)
An outline of the solid waste disposal strategy to be utilized by the
county or district for a ten-year planning period;
5)
Where applicable, a procedure for the processing of applications for
inclusion of solid waste and recycling facilities within the district solid
waste management plans. The procedure shall state the applicant requirements
for inclusion into the district plan and the specific county review
process/procedures, including time frames for county approvals or rejections
and subsequent submittals to the Department. Note- the criteria for
inclusion shall not include a requirement that local zoning or planning
board approval(s) be obtained as a condition for inclusion within the district
solid waste management plan, nor shall such a requirement be made a condition
for subsequent construction or operation of any facility;
6)
Where applicable, utilizing the data supplied in Table B-1 of the State
Plan that identifies the additional tonnage of recycled materials in the
municipal solid waste (MSW) stream (by material commodity types) required by
each county to meet the mandated MSW recycling goal, a strategy for the
attainment of the recycling goals as outlined above. The strategy shall
include, as necessary:
a)
a listing of the currently mandated recyclable materials and the
designation of additional materials, if any, to be source separated in the
residential, commercial and
institutional
sectors;
b)
a listing of those entities providing recycling collection, processing
and marketing
services for each of the designated recyclable materials;
c)
the communication program to be utilized to inform generators of their
source
separation and recycling responsibilities (note: statutory
responsibility of municipalities);
d)
a comprehensive enforcement program that identifies the county and/or
municipal entity(ies)
responsible for enforcement of the recycling mandates, specifies the minimum number of recycling inspections
that will be undertaken by these entities on an annual basis and details the
penalties to be imposed for non-compliance with the municipal source-separation ordinance and county solid
waste management plan. Additionally, each county or district must submit copies
of each municipal source-separation ordinance to the Department within 6 months
of the approval of its updated county or district solid waste plan.
It should be noted that, due to a number of
factors including the experience of the Department relative to a coordinated
recycling enforcement ÒsweepÓ in Hudson County in mid-2005, the Department has
begun drafting a ÒmodelÓ municipal recycling ordinance. This model ordinance
will include all those elements that are contained in statute as municipal
responsibilities in this area, as well as recommended elements based on the
past 20 years of state experience in recycling management. For example, though
not specifically contained in the Recycling Act nor the Municipal Land Use Law,
municipalities have the authority to require, as an element of permit issuance
for construction or demolition activity, information related to the generation
and disposition of materials generated as a result of these activities. The
model ordinance being developed will provide guidance on incorporating this
into the municipal demolition/construction permit process, as another way to
increase responsible waste management, and increase recycling efforts in the
construction industry. The Department intends to complete and distribute this
model ordinance in the first quarter of 2006.
In the event that the district does not
mandate additional materials for source separation and recycling, the revised
plan shall include the above elements for each material currently designated
for recycling. Additionally, given
the discussion in the recycling section of the Updated Statewide Solid Waste
Management Plan relative to targeting increases in recycling in the small
business sector, multi-family housing developments and schools and other
institutions, the revised plan shall indicate the anticipated increases in
tonnage of recycled material, by material and by generating sector, in order to
meet, at a minimum, the targets identified for each county in Table B-1 of the
State Plan.
The adopted Plan update and
response to comment document can be viewed or downloaded from the DepartmentÕs
website at www.state.nj.us/dep/dshw.
If you have any additional questions relative to this matter, please contact Robert Goodwin of my staff at (609) 984-3438 or by e-mail at robert.goodwin@dep.state.nj.us.
Sincerely,
Frank Coolick, Administrator
Solid and Hazardous Waste Program
cc: county solid waste coordinators
county recycling coordinators