County MUA Gives 2008 Recycling Rebates

SWAINTON — Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority is distributing $914,037 in recycling rebates to the county’s 16 municipalities.
Executive Director Charlie Norkis told the Herald the 2008 amount is the second highest the authority has been able to distribute since the IPF began operation in 1990.
The authority is able to give rebates when its revenues exceed the cost to process recyclables.
Revenues are determined by the relative strength of the market for recyclables, which remained strong through October 2008 for most categories of recyclable materials processed through the IPF, Norkis said.
The total amount of the recycling rebates for fiscal/calendar year 2008 was determined based upon a financial audit of the revenues and expenses for the operation of the IPF.
Recycling rebates are distributed to municipalities in proportion to the total quantity of recyclables delivered to the CMCMUA during 2008 for processing.
Municipalities will receive $34 per ton of recyclables, including mixed paper, commingled cans and bottles and mixed rigid plastics.
However, commodity prices for recycled materials began to decrease in November 2008. Market conditions have been negatively affected by the current general economic downturn.
Norkis said there is a high likelihood that there will be no rebates issued next year for fiscal year 2009. Even under the current difficult economic environment, the authority continues to market and sell its recyclables, mainly due to the high quality of the materials produced at the IPF.
The reduced commodity pricing received for the processed recyclables is expected to be a temporary circumstance. The authority continues to encourage towns to continue all of their current recycling programs and to make efforts to increase recycling rates in order to be in a position to take full advantage of the economic reward when strong markets return.
Every additional ton recycled saves each town the tipping fee that would have been incurred had the materials not been recycled.
For municipally collected waste, every additional ton recycled saves the municipality the tipping fee of $63 per ton. Even without considering the recycling rebate program, the tipping fee avoidance represents a large financial benefit to each municipality.
Towns will receive rebates from the state under the newly enacted Recycling Enhancement Tax that has been levied on the landfill tipping fees that are distributed in proportion to the tons recycled by each town, another incentive for the municipalities to increase their recycling efforts.
The CMCMUA continues to support each town’s recycling programs by providing aids in education, the creation of new recycling opportunities such as the Rigid Plastics and Shrink Wrap Programs and the cost efficient operation of the IPF.
The following is a list of rebate amounts based on how much each town recycled in 2008:
• Avalon recycled 1,416 tons and will get $48,273
• Cape May City recycled 1,588 tons and will get $54,162
• Cape May Point recycled 97 tons and will get $3,310
• Dennis Township recycled 1,118 tons and will get $38,114
• Lower Township recycled 4,273 tons and will get $145,684
• Middle Township recycled 3,563 tons and will get $121,480
• North Wildwood recycled 1,778 tons and will get $60,619
• Ocean City recycled 3,804 tons and will get $129,689
• Sea Isle City recycled 2,073 tons and will get $70,680
• Stone Harbor recycled 816 tons and will get $27,827
• Upper Township recycled 2,285 tons and will get $77,904
• West Cape May recycled 213 tons and will get $7,278
• West Wildwood recycled 138 tons and will get $4,730
• Wildwood recycled 2,106 tons and will get $71,804
• Wildwood Crest recycled 1,201 tons and will get $40,959
• Woodbine recycled 337 tons and will get $11,514
Contact Truluck at (609) 886-8600 ext. 24 or at: ltruluck@cmcherald.com.