The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, along with program partner Worthington Industries, recently celebrated the completion of a first-year pilot program collecting and recycling propane gas cylinders at Hammonasset Beach State Park Campground. We’re thrilled to report that nearly nearly 2,000 one-pound propane camping cylinders were recycled over the duration of the pilot program this summer!
The program stems from a May 2022 law requiring an industry-managed stewardship recycling program for certain residential gas cylinders. The law applies to cylinders commonly used for camping, grilling, DIY projects and celebrations requiring portable propane and butane, hand-held torches, and portable helium. Industry management of the recycling process for these cylinders stands to deliver up to $200,000 in state savings annually, in addition to environmental benefits from the removal of these recyclable cylinders from the municipal solid waste system.
DEEP is thrilled with the initial results from this gas cylinder recycling program, which is the latest in a series of successful extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs in Connecticut, for items such as paint and mattresses!
What’s next? This program will continue at Hammonasset next summer, and will expand to include Rock Neck State Park! By Oct. 1, 2025, Worthington and nine other residential gas cylinder producers plan to implement the recycling program statewide!
