Delaware’s Universal recycling act mandates that all commercial businesses begin using recycling services and all waste collectors, transporters, and distributors implement recycling processes.
In concert with this mandate, a grant fund was established in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for recycling projects in schools and municipalities. Just last year in October, Governor Markell and the DNREC approved over $700,000 in grants and public assistance for recycling projects, and some of that has now reached us. The goal is to facilitate enough recycled material production for it to be introduced into the market to largely replace raw materials and become a sustainable source for commercial use. Once this has been achieved, the state will be able to generate enough revenue to build the state of the art recycling plants we need to make this a permanent process. The Delaware Solid Waste Authority currently cannot afford to build the needed recycling plants–it only one exists in the state, “The Delaware Recycling center” among 3 massive landfills, which are much cheaper.
Schools and communities will play an instrumental role in meeting these production goals, but people and students must commit to these simple procedures to be successful. Many recycling initiatives have been launched and forgotten as our discipline slowly deteriorates overtime. However, the one presented to us just a couple weeks ago is part of a grand state plan to end harmful waste to our environment and bolster Delaware’s industry with cheaper recycled raw materials. We can be a part of this effort to force state industry onto recycled materials and become a model for other states in vastly reducing our waste and pollution.
