In the near future, we plan to reintroduce last session’s SB418 to bolster the state’s household hazardous waste collection program to ensure that counties can continue to host these important recycling events.   
 
Most Pennsylvanians do not have the ability to safely dispose of their household’s hazardous waste (HHW), so they rely on their county to host free collection events. Each year, these popular events collect millions of pounds of waste statewide. HHW includes unused household products that may explode, catch fire, or be generally harmful to the environment if not properly disposed, such as paint, pesticides, pool chemicals, drain cleaners, batteries, and motor oil.
 
To help counties host these important events, Act 190 of 1996 provides a state funding match of up to $100,000 per county. Unfortunately, this limit has not been increased despite the fact that the cost for counties to hold these events has increased exponentially over the last two decades.
 
Therefore, our bill would increase the limit on matching funds that each county may receive from $100,000 to $250,000. This legislation does not increase existing funding, which is capped at $2 million, but simply allows for participating counties to draw down additional resources from this fund, creating a more equitable distribution system.
 
The county’s HHW program ran as a cost neutral program up until approximately 2018.  The result of this legislation would be additional funds being made available, at no additional expense to the Commonwealth, to the few counties that have reached the statutory cap in recent years.
 
Please join us in supporting this important legislation.
 

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 271 (Feb 26, 2025): P.L.1478, No.190
Printer's No. 0271: P.L.1478, No.190