1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C. 40A:11-15) to the contrary, a county government contracting unit may enter into or extend a contract for the marketing of recyclable materials recovered through a recycling program subject to the following conditions:

(1) The program includes one or more interlocal services agreements with municipalities in that county for the delivery of recyclable materials to a contractor; and

(2) The contract for the marketing of recyclable material includes fixed or formula based fees for the marketing services so provided and the contractor owns the buildings and equipment necessary to perform the contract.

b. Whenever an existing contract satisfies the conditions contained in subsection a. of this section, the contract may be extended for a period of up to 10 years; however, the length of the existing contract together with any extension thereof shall not exceed a total of 12 years. A new contract for the marketing of recyclable materials shall not exceed 10 years. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C. 40A:11-5) to the contrary, a new contract for the marketing of recyclable materials for a term exceeding five years shall be entered into pursuant to public bidding or competitive contracting.

L.2003, c.150, s.1.