"Recycling: To return to the previous stage of the cyclic process, especially converting waste to reusable basic materials." Pollution Prevention Section The PennDOT SRP responds to the Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act (Act 101) passed in 1988 and as re-authorized as Act 175 in December 2002. Section 1506 of Act 101 specifically directed PennDOT to evaluate products and materials that may be recycled in transportation and civil engineering applications. Since 1998, PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) have operated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that is renewed and updated on a biennial basis to promote and support recycled materials in state highway construction and maintenance projects. The MOU allows PADEP to transfer monies collected from the Act 101 Recycling Fund to support PennDOT's Strategic Recycling Program (SRP) efforts. The ultimate objectives of the SRP is to realize economic savings and environmental enhancement to PennDOT and the Commonwealth, continued development and improvement to pollution prevention, recycling, energy efficiency, and sound environmental management practices. The major social benefits of the SRP include: reduction in materials entering landfills development of new business opportunities within the Commonwealth Five key focus areas are targeted to achieve and sustain PennDOT's mission to increase utilization of recycled materials in transportation civil engineering applications: Research – This focus area is aimed primarily at the information collection process on recycled materials, including the literature review process and the completion of laboratory, pilot and field scale studies, as warranted. The purpose is to identify and resolve data gaps associated with the use of recycled materials and to organize the supporting information for the development of recycled material specifications. Specifications – The objective of this focus area is to develop, obtain, and/or disseminate user guidelines, provisional special provisions and Publication 408 specifications at the Municipal, District and Statewide levels. Projects – This focus area is aimed at identifying, implementing, evaluating, and monitoring projects that use recycled materials. The overall objective is to successfully incorporate recycled materials in construction and maintenance projects, including post-construction monitoring phases. Outreach – The objective of this focus area is to communicate and disseminate the results and experiences of recycled materials projects to PennDOT, Commonwealth agencies and the public using a variety of formats. Contracting – This focus area is aimed at providing technical assistance to the Engineering Districts in developing and using purchase, service and/or construction contract mechanisms to specify or provide for recycled material use. Summaries and downloadable information is available by clicking on each focus area. The information ranges from general knowledge to technical so as to capture the interests of a diverse audience. The main intent is to show how recycling is practiced and applied within PennDOT. Under the auspices of the PennDOT SRP and the interagency MOU, the following additional activities have been undertaken and/or completed: District Administrative Office Waste Audits. An internal and biennial benchmark for PennDOT District offices to gauge and improve office material recycling efforts. Recycling Center Signs. Coordinating the installation of directional signs for county recycling centers throughout the Commonwealth. If your county has a need for the placement of signs, please contact the SEM Program Office. (Incluce the requirements for placing signs) We are hopeful that you will find some interesting information about recycling within a large state agency. We will keep updating this site to provide current knowledge on PennDOT recycling projects, programs, and events.