Doing our part recycling in Yorktown

Last week Patty and I went to the Environmental Conservation Department and spoke with Kim. It was quite informative and I learned that I need to change my habits. Yorktown already has a very complete, pro-active recycling program and tries to make our citizens aware of our responsibilities and opportunities. Each year they mail out a pamphlet that outlines current programs and demonstrates that recycling works and has a very positive payback both in recycling and cost savings.

I learned that the garbage we put at the curb is taken to the Charles Point plant in Peekskill and burned to produce electricity. The system there is quite efficient and there are minimal emissions from the plant. What is left, after burning, is ash that contains toxic heavy metals. This is hauled to a landfill in Cortland; there are no more open landfills available for our trash.

The items placed in our recycling bins are taken to the recycling center in Yonkers, separated and bundled. The County has agreements for the purchase of the valuable components such as aluminum, glass, paper, cardboard and plastic. What I learned, which is in the pamphlet at home, was that at this time only plastic marked #1 or #2 are recycled. The yogurt container or the trays from Empire Hunan we get our Chinese takeout in are not recycled. They are separated out, put into dumpsters and then hauled to Charles Point and burned. So, even though I 'recycled' these items, I was actually causing more expense in handling these as they were now trucked to Yonkers and then back to Peekskill as well as manually sorted out of the waste stream of valid recyclable objects.

Similar to the County program to collect household chemicals and computers, the Town collects the computer equipment put at the curb during big garbage pickup, stores them and then passes these along to a recycling company. So, rather than hauling my excess to a County park on these days, I can leave it at the curb and it will end up with a similar fate.

The Town also has collection points for batteries and cell phones. Those with heavy metals (cadmium, nickle, etc.) are responsibly managed.

The Town follows the NY State and County regulations for the proper handling and disposal of our trash. From what we heard, our Town tries to go above and beyond to help us responsibly manage our own waste and reduce the taxpayer cost for these services. We should all pull out our pamphlets and read about the existing programs and best practices.

I found mine and have begun to change my ways.