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Waste disposal and recycling are often seen as running counter to each other, but in fact they are complementary. Everyone should do what he or she can to minimize waste in the first place and then recycle as much as possible.
PWIA supports and encourages recycling. We took a lead role in urging the Pennsylvania Legislature to re-authorize the $2-per-ton tax on waste disposal at landfills and incinerators earmarked to pay for curbside recycling in Pennsylvania.
We believe curbside recycling in Pennsylvania is beneficial for Pennsylvania’s environment. Recycling reduces the volume of waste overall and also preserves capacity at landfills and incinerators for disposal of material that at present cannot be recycled.
It is important to realize that Pennsylvania’s curbside recycling program is largely supported by taxes on solid waste. Every ton of solid waste that goes to a landfill or waste-to-energy facility in Pennsylvania generates $2 to support curbside recycling and $4.25 per ton to support the Environmental Stewardship Fund, which pays for farmland preservation, open space protection, abandoned mine reclamation, watershed protection and restoration, water and sewer projects, and park improvements.
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