The Sherrill Administration is awarding $16.2 million in annual grants to help community recycling programs improve their waste reduction and recycling practices, Department of Environmental Protection acting commissioner Ed Potosnak announced.
The award amounts are based on the amount of recycling each community reported during 2023, the most recent year for which data is available. Local recycling programs use grant funds to make improvements to recycling centers, set up household hazardous waste collection events, deploy more public recycling receptacles, maintain leaf composting operations and run recycling education programs. The grants are funded through a $3 per-ton surcharge on trash disposed statewide at solid waste facilities, per the state’s Recycling Enhancement Act.
Recycling performance – By the numbers
In 2023, New Jersey generated 21,715,349 tons of solid waste, which includes municipal solid waste and non-municipal waste such as construction debris. Of this, 11,469,020 tons were recycled for a 53 percent overall recycling rate, a one-percent decrease from the previous year.
More specifically, New Jersey recycled 3,442,632 tons and disposed of 6,077,402 tons of municipal solid waste for a 36 percent municipal solid waste recycling rate. This represents a two-percent decrease from 2022. To illustrate this data, each resident on average disposed of 3.5 pounds and recycled 2.1 pounds of waste each day.
Grant awards
Local governments receiving grants of more than $100,000:
- Bergen County: Paramus, $134,505
- Cumberland County: Millville, $121,283; Vineland, $563,427
- Essex County: East Orange, $103,697; Newark, $306,848
- Gloucester County: Logan, $223,748
- Hudson County: Jersey City, $322,448; Secaucus, $123,321
- Mercer County: Hamilton, $168,169; Robbinsville, $145,610; Trenton, 142,775
- Middlesex County: Carteret, $118,081; Edison, $203,318; Monroe, $18,041; Old Bridge, $124,863; South Brunswick, $237,836; South Plainfield, $35,510; Woodbridge, $277,397
- Monmouth County: Freehold Township, $130,294; Middletown, $114,627
- Morris County: Parsippany-Troy Hills, $134,006
- Ocean County: Brick,$115,649; Lakewood, $192,854; Toms River, $243,613
- Passaic County: Clifton, $196,204; Passaic, $103,475; Paterson, $268,508; Wayne, $153,669
Published July 2026
