October 2008


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NYC Recycling Updates from the
Office of Recycling Outreach and Education

A program of Council on the Environment of New York City

In this Issue:
1. Focus on Bottled Water

2. Green Your Halloween

3. Electronics Recycling Updates

4. NYC Compost Update

5. Get involved!

 

Focus on Bottled Water
Drinking more water is certainly a healthy choice for you, but how about for the environment? Well, if youre drinking it from the tap its more eco- and wallet-friendly.

The American appetite for bottled water consumes more than just H2Oit takes oil to process, package and transport this product, which costs hundreds to thousands of times more than tap water. Based on national estimates, New Yorkers use 856 million bottles of water per year, or about 43,000 tons.

Nationally, only 14% of water bottles get recycled. In NYC, plastic bottles are accepted for curbside recycling, but recycling facilities arent always available when consuming on-the-go, at the office or at special events like concerts and summertime block parties.

What can you do? Recycle more, carry a reusable bottle, try tap water at home and learn other ways to replace water packaged in disposable containers. See the Learn More section for other ideas.

LEARN MORE

The NY City Council no longer allows bottled water at Council events or official functions and a pilot program using filtered tap water coolers is underway at City Hall and the Municipal Building.

Coordinating an event? Check out this Guide to going bottled-water free from Food and Water Watch.

Dont forget to recycle! Theres still time to apply for free recycling bins from Coca Cola and the National Recycling Coalition. Applications due Oct. 17.

Learn more about plastics recycling in NYC from the Department of Sanitations comprehensive study of what we throw away.

Green Your Halloween
Prevent waste this Halloween by being a conscious consumer. A few tips to get you started:

Create costumes from items you already own and avoid purchasing unnecessary plastic items.

Help kids to make their own crafty trick-or-treat bags using paper bags instead of store bought plastic bags or plastic pumpkins. Remember to put paper bags and scraps in your recycling bin.

Put removable decorations on pillow cases for an extra sturdy candy sack.

When you're finished showing off your costume, you can bring it to one of our weekly textile recycling collections.

Compost your jack-o-lantern in your home compost bin or bring it to a compost drop-off site sponsored by local community groups and gardens.

 

Electronics Recycling Updates


Samsung announces electronics drop-off in NYC

Samsung Electronics America Inc. has announced free recycling drop-offs for Samsung branded electronics, excluding home appliances, in all 50 States. The NYC location is open Monday through Friday, 9am-3pm at 1340 East Bay Avenue in the Bronx. For more information visit the Recycling Direct site or
call 718-328-0090.


Free r
ecycling and reuse options for electronics at Goodwill stores
Goodwill and Dell are partnering to accept any brand of computer for reuse or recycling, free of charge, through the Reconnect partnership. 13 Goodwill stores in the five boroughs are participating as drop-off sites for this initiative. For more info and to find a store near you visit the Reconnect website.

 

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Upcoming e-waste collections from the Lower East Side Ecology Center

Free, residents only. For more information and to confirm dates, times and locations below please check with the Ecology Center. Click here for a list of what you can bring.

Upper East Side
Sat. & Sun., October 11th & 12th, 10am-4pm
and Monday, October 13th, 4pm-7pm
First Ave between 67th and 68th Streets
(West side of the Avenue)

Upper East Side
Tuesday, October 21st, 11am-7pm
Fifth Avenue between 89th & 90th Streets
(East side of the Avenue)

NYC Compost Update


Fall leaf collection is suspended for 2008, but you can still reap the benefits of last years collection at the Department of Sanitations Compost Giveback. Residents can pick up all the free compost they can handle and get a discounted compost bin to continue making their own black gold at home. Saturday & Sunday, October 18th & 19th, 8am-2pm at the Fresh Kills Composting Site on Staten Island.
Visit DSNY for more info.


What can you do?

Fallen leaves from healthy trees can still be composted at your community garden or even in your yard by simply raking them into a pile and letting nature do the rest!

For more information on composting visit the NYC Compost Project.

Volunteer to help recycling in NYC!
Find yourself cringing at the sight of improper recycling? Join OROEs team of volunteers! We host monthly volunteer trainings to cover the basics of recycling in NYC and how you can get involved to help New Yorkers to recycle more. Find out more on our website, GrowNYC.org.


Next Volunteer Orientation:
Wednesday, October 29th
6:30pm-8pm, near City Hall.

Space is limited so RSVP today!



GrowNYC (GrowNYC)
is a hands-on non-profit that has been improving New York Citys environment for over thirty years. GrowNYCs dedicated staff green our neighborhoods, create the environmental leaders of the future, reinvigorate New Yorkers understanding of, and participation in, NYCs recycling program, and run the largest farmers market program in the country. For more information: www.GrowNYC.org.

THE OFFICE OF RECYCLING OUTREACH & EDUCATION (OROE) works to improve the Citys 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.

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. OROEs current intensive efforts target one-quarter of New York Citys residents in the neighborhoods of Washington Heights, Inwood, East Harlem, Central Harlem and Manhattan Public Housing; Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick; Astoria, Long Island City, Jackson Heights, Corona, Jamaica; South Bronx; and all of Staten Island. For more information visit www.GrowNYC.org or call 212-788-7964.

 

 

Every year, GrowNYC holds our Annual Spring Plant Sale in order to provide community groups with affordable perennial and annual flowering plants, herbs, ground covers, and vegetables grown by Greenmarket farmers and sold in wholesale quantities.