Ocean County recycling revenue reaches new high
Ocean County's recycling revenue broke a new revenue record this year, driven by rising prices for recycled materials, according to the county Board of Commissioners.
County officials said this is the first time in four years the recycling program has returned enough profit to share among municipalities. Prior to 2018, Ocean County shared recycling revenues with municipalities. The sharing stopped when the value of used material plummeted as China halted most scrap imports.
In the years since, the cost of collecting recycling and processing it for reuse often exceeded any money earned on its subsequent sale. But with limited landfill space in Ocean County and a state law requiring counties participate in recycling programs, the county continued its recycling program and absorbed those extra costs.
"Now that we have turned the corner, we are once again pleased to share the revenue with our towns, who are essential to the success of our recycling efforts," Commissioner Director John P. Kelly said in a news release Wednesday.
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Returns from recycling
Ocean County's recycled material sold for an average of $29.47 per ton over the first six months of the year, bringing revenue to $1,933,664, officials said. That revenue will be divided, with half going to the county and the other half split among Ocean County's 33 municipalities based on their collection weights.
"We are very pleased to announce that… we are returning more than $966,832 to municipalities that partner with the county’s recycling effort,” Commissioner Barbara "Bobbi" Jo Crea, liaison to Recycling and the Department of Solid Waste Management, said in the news release.
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The previous record was set in 2011, with $917,481 in revenue delivered to towns, she said.
The five towns that will receive the largest returns for their recyclables are: Lakewood — $193,212; Toms River — $142,555; Brick — $106,582; Stafford — $64,675 and Berkeley — $62,999.
Between September 2020 and September 2021, the prices for recycled materials climbed across the nation, due to changes in public behavior related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Solid Waste Association of North America. With schools being closed for months of the pandemic, large sources of paper and cardboard were eliminated from the recycling stream, according to a 2021 markets report by the organization. At the same time, increases in e-commerce and online shopping drove up demand for cardboard and paper fiber, according to the report.
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As a result, the price of mixed paper rose to $96 per ton in September 2021 from $18 per ton in September 2020, according to the Solid Waste Association.
Used plastics and metal markets also saw major increases in prices over the same time period. Used PET plastics jumped from $130 per ton to $511 per ton. Aluminum used beverage cans rose from $915 per ton to $1,550 per ton. Steel used beverage cans rose from $78 per ton to $250 per ton, according to the report.
Kelly, the Commissioner director, said the county has invested more than $7.5 million into its recycling program since 2018 to better compete within the recycling products market.
"Our investment has paid off for the taxpayers of Ocean County," he said in the news release.
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Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers Brick, Barnegat and Lacey townships as well as the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean County NJ recycling breaks new revenue record with rising prices
