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Written By: Doug Ruhlin | Dec 2, 2021
Time to Read 12 Minutes
When it comes to starting a recycling business in New Jersey, one of the most complex things to discuss is how much it will cost. I'm not just referring to New Jersey Recycling Approval costs, we get asked about the true cost of environmental compliance at facilities over time. Whether that's a year, 5, 10, or more, understanding the long-term costs of environmental compliance at a recycling center in New Jersey is a tricky thing to answer. Having said that, let's jump in and discuss the ins and outs of the costs of New Jersey recycling permits, approvals, and long-term compliance costs.
Before we get into looking at other areas of compliance, let's face one thing right off the bat. When it comes to getting a recycling permit or approval in New Jersey, your costs are going to depend on a few things which really boil down to three things: where is your recycling center, what are you going to recycle, and what will you do with that recycled material?
This depends right off the bat because the answers to those questions will steer you towards understanding costs. For example, certain types of "recycling" facilities in New Jersey could spend $0 to start recycling (recycling exemptions, certain instances for Class A facilities, etc.), while other types of recycling facilities could cost $25,000+ just to open, with annual costs again being well over $20,000 every year you're in operation.
The point is, the cost of a recycling approval, permit, or exemption can range drastically.
Let's get into the mix of things to illustrate why it's hard to pinpoint a cost. We're going to outline a few hypothetical scenarios of different types of facilities within New Jersey that would need a recycling approval. We are going to skip discussing recycling exemptions since those are free to get, and all types of different industrial or commercial operations around New Jersey could use them.
These types of operations are:
We're also going to include the costs of hiring an environmental consultant to get these things for you or your business. We figure if you're here, you might need help getting into compliance, so we'll outline some of our ballpark prices as well.
And, for each of these examples, we are looking at costs over 5-years, based on CURRENT numbers. As things change and morph, you can expect things to get MORE expensive, not cheaper. This is New Jersey after all!
In this instance, we're going to outline a hypothetical metal recycling facility here in New Jersey.
This facility is going to have
Remember, as a Class A facility, you won't need to pay an initial fee to the NJDEP for your recycling approval, nor will you need to pay annual fees to the NJDEP either. Free permit, right?! Maybe, and that depends if you can get the permit on your own.
You may need additional things to meet local or county approval, such as noise studies, traffic studies, surveying, engineering, or even addressing environmental justice concerns. All of these things could increase the price to get a Class A approval, depending entirely on your situation.
You can learn more about Class A recycling approvals in our article What are Class A recyclable materials in New Jersey?
In this instance, your equipment will require getting a general air permit in New Jersey.
That brings your 5-year costs to a total of about $4,270 for your general air permit in New Jersey.
You can read more about air permits in our article Everything you NEED to know about New Jersey Air Permits.
This compliance item has several layers, so let's look at them one at a time.
All said and done, that's a total of around $51,250 for 5 years of compliance under the SM2 stormwater permit.
So where does this all get you? Between a Class A recycling approval, general air permit, and SM2 stormwater permit, you should expect to pay in the neighborhood of $60,020 for 5 years of environmental compliance.
In this instance, we're going to outline a hypothetical ready-mix concrete plant here in New Jersey, which also operates a commercial concrete crushing operation on-site. This facility is going to have
Right off the bat, this is where things get EXPENSIVE.
All said and done, you should expect to pay around $95,911 for 5 years of compliance with your Class B recycling approval.
Let's pivot to air permits again. Imagine that you have 3 pieces of equipment (such as concrete crushers) that all need to be covered under your PCP air permit.
In total, you'll pay around $49,630 over the course of the 5 years for compliance with your PCP air permit in New Jersey.
Finally, the costs for an individual stormwater permit in New Jersey. This one is a little tricky, as individual permits vary in price pretty drastically. So, just keep in mind that actual costs could be higher or lower than the numbers we'll use here.
That's about $48,750 over the course of 5 years for your individual stormwater permit costs.
If you know anything about stormwater permits or the concrete industry in New Jersey, you might be thinking that there's a stormwater permit specifically made for that industry. Why not use it? The simple answer is you can't use the CPM stormwater permit because:
What will this cost you? Figure between a Class B recycling approval, PCP air permit, and individual stormwater permit, you should expect to pay around $194,291 for 5 years of environmental compliance at a concrete plant in New Jersey.
In this last instance, we're going to outline a hypothetical New Jersey based consumer electronics recycling facility. This operation is going to have
Again, here's where things get pricey.
Over 5 years, that's around $122,278 for your Class D recycling approval costs.
Let's say you only have one piece of equipment, such as a hard drive shredder.
Altogether, that's about $4,270 for 5 years of compliance with your air permit.
The good thing about computer recycling facilities is that they're (usually) all indoors, meaning you can take advantage of New Jersey's simplest and easiest stormwater permit, the 5G2 Basic Industrial General Permit. In this case, let's imagine that you hire a consultant to help out with your 5G2 stormwater permit needs, but you decide to do your annual and monthly inspections on your own.
That's a total of around $8,500 for 5 years of compliance under your 5G2 permit.
I hope you're sitting down for this.
Between a Class D recycling approval, general air permit, and a 5G2 (Basic Industrial) stormwater permit, you should expect to pay around $135,048 for 5 years of environmental compliance.
There are other types of recycling facilities out there. Class C recycling facilities, recycling centers that hold multiple types of recycling approvals, industrial and commercial operations that hold one or more types of recycling exemptions, you name it.
The point is, it's impossible to cover them all. And, it's impossible to estimate costs over a 5-year basis for them all. It all depends on where you're located, what you're recycling, the industry, and your overall business.
Needless to say, getting into the recycling game in New Jersey isn't cheap.
There are PLENTY of additional environmental compliance items and costs that could impact your business. From SPCC Plans to Tier II CRTK Reporting to TRI Reporting and more, there are numerous other things that could cost you several thousands of dollars. Some compliance items have higher up-front costs, while others have virtually no upfront cost, but could cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars every year.
And, when it comes to getting your recycling approval from the county or state, you'll need to demonstrate compliance right out of the gate. You can't submit an application to the State of New Jersey's DEP and pretend not to know about other requirements!
When it comes to getting into compliance in New Jersey, it's not easy. That goes double for recycling facilities in New Jersey! If you're having trouble, need help, or just have questions, you aren't alone.
If you need help obtaining a recycling approval or anything else related to your company's environmental program, and need the help of an environmental consulting firm with a proven track record, reach out. Even if we can't help, we’ll do our best to steer you in the right direction. Feel free to contact us at info@rmagreen.com, click here to contact us, or give us a call anytime at 888-RMA-0230 to learn how we can help your operation deal with environmental regulations and recycling approvals in New Jersey.
Tags: Environmental Compliance, New Jersey Recycling Permits, New Jersey Recycling Exemptions, New Jersey Environmental Services, New Jersey Stormwater Permits, New Jersey Air Permits
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