CRRA to Reward Towns for Recycling with Over $400,000;
West Hartford, Sharon, Salisbury, East Granby, Torrington Stand Out

CRRA's Efforts Lead to Best Recycling Year Ever; Towns Save Additional $5.3 Million

HARTFORD, Conn. – For years, the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority has been reminding people that it pays to recycle. Soon, 64 cities and towns will get checks to prove it.

In fact, they’ll be collecting a total of more than $400,000 – $5 for every qualifying ton of recyclables they delivered to CRRA during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. The CRRA Board of Directors today voted to authorize the rebates.

The $5-a-ton rebate is just one of a number of CRRA initiatives to increase recycling:

• In 2008, CRRA introduced to Connecticut single-stream recycling, the next generation of recycling.
• In 2009, CRRA supported the introduction of single-stream recycling with a public awareness campaign that featured radio advertisements, printed materials and press interviews.
• In 2010, CRRA began accepting plastics #3 through #7 from Mid-Connecticut Project cities and towns.
• Its award-winning education programs, offered through the CRRA Trash Museum in Hartford and CRRA Garbage Museum in Stratford, attracted 56,499 participants in 2010, their third-highest participation total on record and fifth straight year totaling more than 50,000.



As a result of these efforts, residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns recycled 83,856 tons of material in fiscal 2010. Add in 526 tons of electronics (not part of the rebate program) collected at CRRA electronics recycling events, and those towns recycled 84,382 tons of waste, which, for the fourth year in a row, set an all-time Project record.

And when compared to trash deliveries of 722,642 tons during the same period, Project towns recycled 10.13 percent of their solid waste, another Project record. Percentages are based on the ratio of recyclables to trash delivered to Mid-Connecticut Project facilities from Project towns.

“Reducing trash and increasing recycling are the best ways to manage the state’s solid waste problem, and we’re delighted that our initiatives are making that happen,” said Thomas D. Kirk, CRRA president.

Some noteworthy accomplishments:

• For the third straight year, West Hartford led the Project by recycling 6002.99 tons.
• Per person, for the third straight year the towns of Sharon and Salisbury, were the best recyclers. Through their shared transfer station they recycled 969.07 tons, or 276.29 pounds per resident.
• Middlebury had the best recycling rate at 25.85 percent.
  • East Granby recycled 474.73 tons, an increase of more than 89 percent over its FY 2009 total, the largest tonnage increase in the Project.
  • Torrington, meanwhile, had the best increase in its recycling rate (the ratio of recyclables to garbage delivered to the Mid-Connecticut Project) by more than 51 percent.

  Money for the rebates comes from revenues CRRA receives from the sale of recycled commodities. But the rebates aren’t the only financial incentive for towns to recycle. By not sending that waste to the Mid-Connecticut Project trash-to-energy plant, those towns saved more than $5.7 million in disposal fees.

  Since CRRA began issuing recycling rebates after FY 2008, it has paid out more than $1.6 million. Those towns saved an additional $16 million by recycling instead of paying for trash disposal at $69 per ton.

  Recycling figures do not include electronics (recycled through CRRA, manufacturers or retailers) and do not include other forms of recycling, such as deposit container redemption, composting of grass clippings, yard waste and food, and recycling of other commodities including scrap metal, waste oil, lead-acid batteries. After taking all these other materials into consideration, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection estimates that Connecticut recycles about 30 percent of its solid waste.
  
  The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority is a quasi-public agency whose mission is to work for – and in – the best interests of the municipalities of the state of Connecticut. CRRA’s board of directors and management team develop and implement environmentally sound solutions and best practices for solid waste disposal and recycling management on behalf of municipalities. CRRA serves 96 Connecticut cities and towns. CRRA also runs award-winning sustainability education programs through the CRRA Trash Museum in Hartford and CRRA Garbage Museum in Stratford. Computer users can discuss CRRA at its blog, http://crra-blog.blogspot.com.

  Mid-Connecticut Project
  Recycling Rebates For FY 2010

  City/Town                 Population*              Recycling                    Rebate
                                                                            (tons)                       (@ $5/ton)
  Avon                           17,357                        2,309.01                    $11,545.05
  Beacon Falls              5,866                           298.65                       $1,493.25
  Bethlehem                  3,577                           330.31                       $1,651.55
  Bloomfield                 20,696                        1,384.86                      $6,924.30
  Bolton                          5,155                           506.65                       $2,533.25
  Canton                       10,125                           881.10                      $4,405.50
  Chester                        3,832                           325.37                      $1,626.85
  Clinton                       13,609                           794.32                      $3,971.60
  Colebrook                   1,532                           151.73                          $758.65
  Cornwall                      1,488                           158.92                         $794.60
  Coventry                    12,307                        1,209.74                     $6,048.70
  Cromwell                   13,669                        1,048.90                     $5,244.50
  Deep River                  4,683                           281.46                      $1,407.30
  East Granby                5,210                           474.73                      $2,373.65
  East Hampton           12,766                        1,102.21                     $5,511.05
  East Hartford             48,634                        1,936.29                     $9,681.45
  East Windsor            11,041                           876.00                      $4,380.00
  Ellington                    14,829                        1,451.85                       $7,259.25
  Enfield                       45,259                        2,995.11                     $14,975.55
  Essex                           6,810                           767.09                       $3,835.45
  Farmington               25,144                        2,314.04                     $11,570.20
  Glastonbury              33,353                        3,699.10                     $18,495.50
  Goshen                        3,244                           293.40                       $1,467.00
  Granby                       11,220                        1,502.96                       $7,514.80
  Guilford                      22,469                        1,646.22                       $8,231.10
  Haddam                       7,954                           492.02                       $2,460.10
  Hartford                    124,060                        4,282.40                     $21,412.00
  Harwinton                   5,596                           478.24                       $2,391.20
  Hebron                         9,304                           859.76                       $4,298.80
  Killingworth                 6,522                           630.90                       $3,154.50
  Litchfield                      8,686                           658.97                       $3,294.85
  Madison                     18,824                        1,420.91                      $7,104.55
  Manchester               56,388                        5,006.07                    $25,030.35
  Marlborough               6,359                           528.97                       $2,644.85
  Middlebury                  7,394                           837.68                       $4,188.40
  Naugatuck                32,019                        1,476.70                       $7,383.50
  Newington                29,818                        2,181.83                     $10,909.15
  Norfolk                         1,658                           165.78                          $828.90
  North Branford         14,387                            878.64                      $4,393.20
  North Canaan            3,366                            240.78                      $1,203.90
  Old Saybrook            10,545                        1,015.34                     $5,076.70
  Oxford                        12,890                           776.29                       $3,881.45
  Portland                       9,577                           555.74                       $2,778.70
  Rocky Hill                  18,827                        1,421.12                       $7,105.60
  Roxbury                       2,320                           198.54                           $992.70
  RRDD#1(1)                 21,234                        1,926.51                    $9,632.55
  Sharon/Salisbury       7,015                           969.07                       $4,845.35
  Simsbury                   23,648                        2,527.15                    $12,635.75
  South Windsor         26,258                        2,725.38                     $13,626.90
  Southbury                 19,706                        1,574.28                        $7,871.40
  Suffield                      15,163                        1,395.64                       $6,978.20
  Thomaston                  7,801                           465.28                      $2,326.40
  Torrington                  35,408                        2,957.83                     $14,789.15
  Vernon                       30,182                        1,925.74                        $9,628.70
  Waterbury                107,143                        2,961.21                     $14,806.05
  Watertown                 22,217                        1,238.03                       $6,190.15
  West Hartford            60,852                        6,002.99                    $30,014.95
  Westbrook                   6,685                           414.08                       $2,070.40
  Wethersfield             25,767                        2,073.92                    $10,369.60
  Windsor Locks          12,517                        1,095.40                     $5,477.00
  Woodbury                    9,700                            757.14                    $3,785.70
  TOTALS                  1,208,813              83,856.35                      $419,281.75

  (1) -- Regional Refuse Disposal District 1 includes Barkhamsted, New Hartford and Winchester.

  * -- Population figures from Connecticut Department of Public Health 2009 population estimate.