East Harlem Residents Put OROE’s Resources to Use
When Youth Action Programs and Homes decided it was time to “green” their tenants and recruit community leaders, they called on OROE to help. OROE led a training for current and future building representatives at this East Harlem-based community development organization. Attendees then helped to organize tenant recycling workshops at YAPH’s multifamily buildings. OROE traveled building-to-building to provide recycling demonstrations for residents, who gathered in their lobbies to learn how they could do their part. All who attended received a set of OROE’s Sort & Store recycling totes to make proper sorting in each apartment easy.

Does your building need a recycling boost? OROE’s services are now available to more than 2 million New Yorkers in the following communities: Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood; Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill; Astoria, LIC, Jackson Heights, Corona, Jamaica, Broad Channel, Rockaways; South Bronx, Highbridge, Concourse, Mount Eden, Concourse Village; and all of Staten Island. Click here to send a message to your borough’s recycling coordinator.

Textiles Recycling Returns to Jackson Heights Greenmarket
The Jackson Heights Greenmarket has reopened for the season, and with it comes a weekly collection for clothing and other textiles! Residents can once again bring unwanted clothing, shoes, bedding, linens, hats, handbags and more to 34th Ave between 77th & 78th Streets. Materials will be reused or recycled. For more information on this program and other Greenmarkets that accept textiles please visit www.grownyc.org/clothing.

New Compost Bin Built at Inwood Hill Park
Over Memorial Day weekend community residents and staff from GrowNYC, Lower East Side Ecology Center and Inwood Hill Nature Center dedicated time to building a compost bin in Inwood Hill Park. This effort will help increase the capacity of the Nature Center’s existing program which accepts fruit and vegetable scraps for composting during regular hours of operation. Stop by the Inwood Hill Nature Center (enter park at W218th and Indian Road) on the third Sunday of every month from 10am-12pm to get involved in the Compost Club or call 212-304-2365 for more info. Learn more about Northern Manhattan composting at Uptown Compost and keep in touch with the Inwood Compost Project on Facebook.

Learn to Compost in Your Community
‘Tis the season to compost! Learn to recycle your food scraps and yard waste into a beneficial fertilizer and soil amendment for your garden, yard, house plants or street tree pit. Check out www.nyccompost.org for information on upcoming events such as Backyard Composting Workshop at W 128th Street between 5th and Lenox Avenue on Saturday, July 10 and Help Build a Compost Bin at the Clay Pits Pond State Park Preserve on Saturday, June 12.

New York State Passes Electronics Recycling Law
On May 28, 2010, Governor Paterson signed legislation requiring manufacturers to provide recycling options for New York residents starting April 11, 2011. By 2015 residents will no longer be allowed to place electronics such as televisions, computers and VCRs in the regular trash. In the meantime, check out Take It Back NYC to find voluntary manufacturer and retailer take-back programs and check future issues of OROE’s NYC Recycling Updates for community electronics collections. Cell phones are currently recyclable at any wireless retailer in NY, select Greenmarkets and through various charities.

Next community electronics collection:
Saturday, July 10, 10am-4pm at Tekserve, 119 W 23rd St.
Sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center

Volunteer with OROE!
OROE will be conducting recycling activities all summer long in every borough. Check out upcoming opportunities to get involved in your community: http://www.grownyc.org/recycling/volunteer.

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GrowNYC's OFFICE OF RECYCLING OUTREACH & EDUCATION (OROE) works to improve the City's recycling rate by educating residents about recycling and waste prevention, and working with landlords to make sure building recycling programs are adequate. Our free services include apartment building recycling audits, trainings for tenants and supers, community events centered on education and special collection programs for textiles, electronics, and compost. OROE's current intensive efforts target one-quarter of New York City's residents. Our five borough-wide coordinators work on a community-by-community basis to identify and address the specific challenges to recycling within a Community District. For more information visit www.grownyc.org or call 212-788-7964.