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recycling

County Reports Westchester Residents Making Huge Strides in Recycling Efforts

November 13, 2020 by Inside Press

“Recycling revenue was up a whopping 107% in September compared to September 2019 and is up almost 10% for the year.”

The County Continues to be a Regional Leader in Environmental Management with Record Curbside Recycling and New Food Scrap Recycling Programs

Sunday, November 15 is National Recycling Day, providing the perfect opportunity to applaud Westchester’s residents for their commitment to recycling their household waste.

Due to the dedication of our residents, Westchester consistently posts some of the highest recycling rates in the region. This year, with so many residents at home and students attending virtual classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Westchester residents have recycled at an unprecedented rate.

County Executive George Latimer said: “When I was elected to lead Westchester, I made a commitment to improving the environment for all Westchester residents. Our team at the Department of Environmental Facilities (DEF) has taken this commitment seriously. Together, we’ve developed a way to host public events with COVID-19 precautions, established the Transportation and Disposal program to allow communities previously unable to afford food scrap recycling a path to do so, and envisioned CompostEd to provide composting education for all County residents.”

According to data compiled by DEF, the agency responsible for managing the County’s refuse disposal and recycling programs, residential curbside recycling was up almost 31% in September compared to September 2019. For the year, curbside recycling is up over 10.5% compared to last year. Revenue from the sale of recyclables has also increased significantly, with the recyclables market beginning to rebound after being mired in a deep recession the past couple of years. Recycling revenue was up a whopping 107% in September compared to September 2019 and is up almost 10% for the year.

DEF Deputy Commissioner Louis Vetrone said: “We’re fortunate in Westchester that our residents are diligent in cleaning recyclables and separating them properly. This dedication combined with the state-of-the-art equipment we’ve installed at the County’s Material Recovery Facility allowed the County to continue to sell its recyclables over the past couple of years, while programs around the country faltered. With the added material collected these past few months, we’ve been in a position to take advantage of the markets.” As a result of the increased revenue, the County’s Refuse District is able to offer new programs related to food scrap recycling.

DEF’s two new food scrap initiatives include the Residential Food Scrap Transportation and Disposal (RFSTAD) Program and CompostED. Under RFSTAD, any District municipality can participate in food scrap recycling for the same– or less than– the transportation and disposal cost of garbage. Incorporating grant funding from NYSDEC for start up materials, allows local municipalities to start these programs for a few thousand dollars.

The County is also near to breaking ground on CompostED, DEF’s new Compost and Education Facility in Valhalla. CompostED will be a small scale compost demonstration facility, offering educational tours and classes on the benefits of composting and for municipalities on incorporating food scraps in municipal yard waste composting activities.

In addition to the uptick in curbside recycling, DEF has also seen record numbers of residents utilizing the services offered at the County’s Household-Material Recovery Facility (H-MRF) at 15 Woods Road on the Valhalla Campus. Between August 1 and October 31, the H-MRF had 4,703 households visit, including a record number of 1,670 in September, delivering over 262,000 lbs. of household waste.

The H-MRF accepts most items that are not collected curbside, including household cleaning supplies, pesticides, fertilizers, Freon-containing appliances, mercury-containing devices, tires, propane tanks, and electronic waste. In addition, the H-MRF offers document shredding services daily and medication drop-off on the first Tuesday of each month. The facility is open by appointment Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-3pm. For more information on the H-MRF or to make an appointment visit https://environment.westchestergov.com/facilities/h-mrf. 

Additionally, on October 24th DEF conducted a Household Recycling Day (HRD) Event at FDR State Park in Yorktown that attracted 840 households delivering household hazardous wastes and 550 utilizing the shredder. Residents can bring all of the same items to the HRD Events that are accepted at the H-MRF. The next HRD Event is scheduled for this Saturday, November 14th at Playland Park. For more information visit our DEF Facebook page at Facebook.com/WestchesterCountyDEF.

News courtesy of the Westchester County Executive

 

Filed Under: Westchester Tagged With: National Recycling Day, recycling, Refuse Disposal, Westchester County

New Castle’s Food Scrap Recycling Program Launches May 29th

May 25, 2018 by Inside Press

 

May 29 is National Learn About Composting Day!

Food waste is one of the largest components of trash sent to landfills and incinerators and composting provides a beneficial alternative. What exactly is compost? It’s science! Compost is the nutrient rich result of the natural decomposition of organic matter. Compost can be made from kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, newspapers, lawn clippings, leaves…almost any food or plant product. The high nutrient content in compost improves soil quality and stability and reduces soil disease-–some of the many reasons compost is also known as “black gold”.

On March 12, 2018, the New Castle Town Board unanimously authorized a food scrap recycling program that will enable more residents to participate in the composting process. Residents can reduce garbage waste and air pollution as well as recycle food waste not suitable for backyard composting (like bones, shells, meat, napkins, paper towels). The Town’s “scraps” are brought to a compost facility and turned into soil. New Castle is launching its food scrap recycling program on Tuesday May 29, in honor of National Learn About Composting Day! Recycling kits (required for participation in the program) will be available for purchase outside Starbucks in downtown Chappaqua and outside DeCicco & Son’s in Millwood between 9am-1pm. The Kit price is $25 and includes a kitchen collection bin, a locking transportation bin (to transport scraps to the New Castle Recycling Center), and compostable bags. After May 29th, kits will be available at the New Castle Recycling Center and at announced town events like the Chappaqua Farmers Market, Town Board Meetings, etc. For more information about the program, see the New Castle Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) website:  newcastlesab.org/food-scrap-recycling

We all want to do our part to conserve natural resources and reduce our carbon footprint. Composting supports the three R’s of waste prevention: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Compost is an environmentally safe fertilizer and an effective alternative to using commercial chemical fertilizers and mulch that are expensive and add toxins to our ground water. Compost helps make your garden safe and hospital for pollinators and other wildlife vital to protecting our ecosystem. New Castle is proud to join the growing number of nearby towns including Bedford, Greenburgh, and Scarsdale, in implementing a food scrap recycling program. For questions about New Castle’s food scrap recycling program, please e-mail Composting@MyNewCastle.org

Filed Under: New Castle Releases Tagged With: Compost, Composting, Food Scraps, New Castle, recycling, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, Town of New Castle

Enhancing Quality of Life

August 5, 2015 by The Inside Press

Department of Public Works

Welcome to New Castle! Working for the Town of New Castle has been very gerryinteresting, challenging at times, but overall very rewarding. For over 30 years, I have had the pleasure of working with a couple of dozen elected officials who have been very professional and supportive by providing the necessary funds to maintain the quality of life in Town. For example, over 20 years ago, several consecutive town boards enabled us to build our Award Winning, State of the Art Millwood Water Treatment Plant. This provides our residents with the best quality water in New York State.

Gerry Moerschell, Commissioner, Department of Public Works morschel@mynewcastle.org

The Town of New Castle’s Department of Public Works maintains the Town’s infrastructure, including coordinating projects with state and county agencies, ensuring the quality of the water you drink, maintaining over one hundred miles of roads, and operating a very successful recycling center. The Public Works Department is comprised of the following units:

• Administration

• Building and Maintenance

• Water

• Highway

• Refuse

• Mechanics

new castle seniors for page 12

Town of New Castle Senior Programs

Program mission is to promote and enhance the quality of life of adults. 60 years and over living in the community. Activities include lectures, puzzles, poker, ping pong, Mahjong, Spanish lessons, acting classes, and tennis. Occasional outdoor opportunities are available as well. For complete details, visit mynewcastle.org

take it or leave it

Take it or Leave it!

The mission of the “Take it or Leave it Shop” is to effect and encourage the re-use of items. The shop is open in the train station parking lot (behind the gas station) on Saturdays from May through November from 9 a.m. to noon.

Examples of acceptable items that are functioning, clean, and gently used are: small, clean and functioning appliances, cookware, furniture (in good condition), kitchenware, dishes and glassware (in good condition), sports equipment, bicycles, toys, games, baby equipment, children’s picture books, ornaments, home repair and gardening tools.

For more info, contact Bill Powers, Recycling Foreman, at bpowers@mynewcastle.org

Filed Under: Inside My New Castle Tagged With: Democratic New Castle Town Board, New Castle, recycling, roads, Water Treatment

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