The Legislature finds that the proper disposal of solid waste and the maximum practical recovery of any potential resource in solid waste, especially its conversion to useable energy, are matters of basic concern to all citizens of this State, and insuring the implementation of an efficient solid waste and resource recovery management strategy is a governmental function thoroughly imbued with the public interest; that the State’s capacity to safely dispose of solid waste of sanitary landfills is rapidly diminishing; that New Jersey must move away from its current reliance on landfilling as the principal method of solid waste disposal to the application of waste reduction, recycling, and energy recovery technologies; that decreasing the waste flow to landfills, whether by means of predisposal methods such as source separation and recycling or through high technology energy conversion is in the energy, environmental, and economic interests of the State of New Jersey; and that these issues must be addressed as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible.

The Legislature further finds that the planning, construction or operation of resource recovery facilities is characterized by high initial capital expenditures and initially high disposal costs or tipping fees relative to landfilling, costs which may be stabilized or decreased based upon a return on energy generated and materials recovered; that these increased initial costs require long-term financial arrangements and a prior Statewide commitment to waste reduction and recycling; that to attract private investment capital for these waste-to-energy projects it is necessary to establish a favorable regulatory climate, which will at the same time insure safe, adequate and proper solid waste disposal service at just and reasonable rates; and that to encourage these joint public-private sector cooperative ventures it is also necessary to attain the most advantageous financial and programmatic scrutiny by the Legislature and agencies of State government.

The Legislature therefore declares that it is the public policy of the State of New Jersey to provide a framework for the implementation of an efficient solid waste disposal and resource recovery strategy which facilitates the orderly development of resource recovery facilities while protecting the public health, safety, and welfare, all as hereinafter provided.

L. 1985, c. 38, s. 1, eff. Feb. 4, 1985.