NYC Recycling
Updates from the
Office of Recycling Outreach and Education
A program of Council on the
Environment of New York City
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In this
Issue:
1. Focus on Bottled Water
2. Green Your
Halloween
3. Electronics
Recycling Updates
4. NYC Compost
Update
5. Get
involved!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Electronics
Recycling Updates
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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.
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Free recycling 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.
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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)
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Upper East Side
Tuesday, October 21st,
11am-7pm
Fifth Avenue between 89th & 90th Streets
(East side of the Avenue)
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NYC Compost
Update
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Next Volunteer Orientation:
Wednesday, October 29th
6:30pm-8pm, near City
Hall.
Space is limited so RSVP today!
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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.
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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.
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