Two Pennsylvania Rulings Impact Recycling Fees

Two recent rulings in Pennsylvania have impacted governments’ ability to charge for recycling services.

The city of Reading tried through the courts to get waste and recycling hauler Mark Iezzi to pay $1,878 in delinquent recycling and trash fees. The Court of Common Pleas of Berkes County ruled in favor of the city, but a state Commonwealth Court overturned the ruling.

The court ruled that there is no mechanism for charging a fee for recycling services; those should be set by the General Assembly. The court believes that recycling programs should be self-sufficient through revenue from the sale of recyclable materials and state grants available., according to a report by Robert Watts, president of the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania.

In another Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania decision, it overturned a lower court ruling favoring the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority and sided with the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association that the authority could not set tipping fees at landfills and set local fees covering recycling programs.

The city of Reading tried through the courts to get waste and recycling hauler Mark Iezzi to pay $1,878 in delinquent recycling and trash fees. The Court of Common Pleas of Berkes County ruled in favor of the city, but a state Commonwealth Court overturned the ruling.

The court ruled that there is no mechanism for charging a fee for recycling services; those should be set by the General Assembly. The court believes that recycling programs should be self-sufficient through revenue from the sale of recyclable materials and state grants available., according to a report by Robert Watts, president of the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania.

In another Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania decision, it overturned a lower court ruling favoring the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority and sided with the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association that the authority could not set tipping fees at landfills and set local fees covering recycling programs.