SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3815

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 10, 2025

      The Senate Environment and Energy Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3815.

      This bill would direct the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to select a qualified consultant, though a competitive bidding process, to conduct a Statewide needs assessment to assess recycling, composting, and reuse conditions for packaging in the State.  The bill would appropriate $500,000 to the DEP to finance the needs assessment.  The final needs assessment would be required to be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature no later than June 1, 2027.

      The bill would establish various requirements for what would be included in the needs assessment, as enumerated in subsection c. of section 2 of the bill, including the program costs and capital investments required to achieve optimal recycling rate goals by 2035 for each material type, including paper, plastic, glass, and metal, and including investment into existing and future reuse, recycling, and composting infrastructure for packaging.  The bill would require the consultant contracted by the DEP to provide, no later than December 31, 2026, a draft needs assessment to the "Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment Advisory Council" (established by the bill).  The advisory council would be required to provide written comments to the consultant no later than 90 days after receipt of the draft needs assessment.  The consultant would then incorporate those comments into a final needs assessment, to be submitted to the DEP no later than May 1, 2027.

      The bill would establish a temporary "Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment Advisory Council" within the DEP.  Members of the council would be appointed by the DEP commissioner, and the commissioner would determine the number of members on the council.  However, the bill would establish certain minimum requirements for the council's membership, as enumerated in subsection c. of section 3 of the bill.  The bill would establish certain duties for the council, including submitting a report to the Governor and Legislature with recommendations on the State's recycling laws and programs.  The council would be dissolved 30 days after the final needs assessment is submitted by the DEP to the Governor and the Legislature.