All posts by wefuturecycle

Hastings-on-Hudson Schools Launched Extensive Recycling Program

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHastings-on-Hudson has launched its extensive recycling program and is looking proudly at a 90% reduction of waste from its lunchrooms as well as a significant reduction in the building.

We Future Cycle helped set up the building to allow for source separation into paper, commingled and food waste recycling. Left as trash is really only plastic baggies and some other soiled things that do not fit into the above recycling groups.

George Prine, the Director of Facilities said that he is amazed as to how little garbage there is left. The Farragut Avenue building, which hosts the High and Middleschool of around 800 students usually generated 17 bags of loosely filled garbage bags just from the lunchroom. With the recycling station in place, it is now generating 4 bags going into food composting, 1 bag going into commingled recycling, and 1 small bag as trash. That is it.

1 week of food waste to be diverted into compost
1 week of food waste to be diverted into compost

This will eventually translate into significant savings for the district in waste management, as about 70 bags of garbage per day are not generated. Instead these materials are source separated and fed into the existing recycling streams. This saves money, and is also much better for the environment.

1 week of commingled diverted into recycling
1 week of commingled diverted into recycling

And we are creating a generation of Hastings students that know what source separation can do and how easy it is. Soon it will be the new normal.

Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner Recommends Residential Organic Waste Collection in Westchester

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In a Letter to the Editor, Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said, “Westchester County should follow the lead of New York City and promote a countywide organic recycling program…Organic waste accounts for about 31 percent of all waste generated by residents. Organic waste is yard waste, food scraps, compostable paper (napkins, paper plates, etc.) and other materials suitable for industrial-scale composting.  Operating a curbside organics collection program can help Westchester reduce millions of dollars in landfill disposal costs, achieve recycling goals and reduce pests by storing food waste in special rodent-resistant bins.”

Read the full letter here.

SIMS Recycling Education Center opens in Brooklyn

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Recycling Education Center Opens in Brooklyn

In 2013, Sims Municipal Recycling opened a state-of-the-art Material Recovery Facility in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The facility can process 100% of the metal, glass, and plastic collected in New York City, with the capacity to process 1,000 tons of material a day. Utilizing its waterfront location, the facility transports the majority of these recyclables by barge. See how NYC recyclables are sorted at the facility in this video.

This month, Sims opened the Recycling Education Center (REC) for schoolchildren and other organizations. While developed with third to eighth graders in mind, people of all ages can enjoy the REC with its colorful, interactive, hands-on exhibits and activities that show how materials are processed for recycling, and turned into new products.

Visitors can watch videos and take an interactive recycling quiz in the media center; play with magnets, scales, air compressors, and conveyors in the activity center; and step onto an operations overlook to see the machines and people in action as they sort NYC’s recyclables. Eadaoin Quinn, Education Coordinator at Sims, explains, “Hearing the machines, smelling the recyclables, and seeing the faces of the workers will really change how people view recycling.”

Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia recently joined children of DSNY employees for a sneak peek of the center and saw firsthand how the center creatively engages kids, while they learn all about recycling.

DSNY gets many requests from the public to see the recycling process up close. Now, the REC is open for free tours. Get a group together, and schedule a visit today!

TIPS
Recycle Plastics!

NYC’s residential recycling program includes all rigid plastics; the number on the bottom doesn’t matter. These include items that are made predominantly or entirely of plastic, and have relatively inflexible shapes or forms, such as takeout containers, plastic cups and utensils, and bulky items, like toys.

 HIGHLIGHTS
Eadaoin Quinn of Sims

Eadaoin (pronounced “Ay-Deen”) Quinn helped develop the REC, and loves teaching children about the important role they play in recycling and conserving resources. After visiting the center, she hopes children will be inspired to tell others how recycling works. Contact her toschedule a visit!

Recycling by the Numbers*

579M 11M 986K 139K 240K
lbs of recyclables
collected
this year		 lbs of organics
collected
this year		 lbs of clothing collected by
re-fashioNYC
this year		 lbs of electronics collected by
e-cycleNYC
this year		 lbs of reusables
diverted by
ReuseNYC members
last year

*numbers are approximate

750 New York City Schools Are Source Separating

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Composting pictureNew York City is showing America that it can be done. Children of 750 New York City public schools are learning source separation in their cafeterias. They will learn that “waste free starts with me” by being responsible for their lunchroom waste.

Way to go!

http://www.districtadministration.com/article/nyc-schools-kick-organic-waste-curb-composting

GETTING RESULTS: New Rochelle School District Eliminates Carcinogenic Styrofoam From The Menu

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downloadUnder the leadership of Interim Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Korostoff and now  to be continued by New Rochelle’s new Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne, New Rochelle School District is finally eliminating  disposable food trays made from Styrofoam from all of its cafeterias.

Expanded PolyStyrene, also known as “Styrofoam”  contains Styrene and that chemical has been linked to cancer and has been classified in 2011 as “reasonably anticipated human carcinogen” by the US Department of Health.

http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/29/styrene-officially-linked-to-cancer/?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=06e8c5f2aa-Top_News_7_30_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-06e8c5f2aa-85840709

This is a wonderful development and a major win of the health and well being of our children and the environment over short sighted consideration of the pocket book.

Styrofoam trays remain the cheapest options for school districts to feed their children on, but cheapest is clearly not in the best interest of the children. Actually, it is unconscionable of School Districts to feed children on this material.

Styrofoam trays are only the cheapest because none of the upstream nor downstream costs of this material is considered. The material uses toxic ingredients, has been linked to leaching these materials into the food and drink it comes in contact with, and creates massive amount of garbage that is either landfilled and NEVER goes away, or it is, in the case of Westchester County, incinerated to then release its Styrene into the air (and guess who is breathing that air?).

When it comes to the health and weTraysfrom2schoolsll-being of our children and ultimately of our community…. CHEAP is not the right solution.

New Rochelle School District is also implementing the School Lunch Recycling Program in all of its elementary and middle schools and is paving the way for other large school districts to follow. If a district with 11,000 students can put the health of its students first, so can others. Ultimately, by taking Styrofoam out of the system, and teaching the children to source separate in the buildings and the lunchroom, thus diverting 90% of the materials from trash to recycling, New Rochelle is set to save hundreds of thousands of dollars so far spent on Waste Management.

A Win-Win and WIN situation for the children, environment and ultimately the pocket book. All it takes, is a change of attitude.

 

 

GETTING RESULTS: New Rochelle School District boots Business Manager John Quinn

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NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The City School District of New Rochelle has fired John Quinn as Assistant Superintendent for Business and Administration in the wake of reports of incompetence and corruption by Talk of the Sound and WeFutureCycle.

Related: http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/why-new-rochelle-school-district-business-manager-john-quinn-must-go

The decision, rumored since June, became public today when the District ran an advertisement to replace Quinn in the New York Times (above).

The removal of Quinn is the first step in a process begun under Interim Superintendent Jeffrey Korostoff which is continuing under Dr. Brian G. Osborne to identify and root out corruption, with a focus on areas that were responsible to Quinn which include Buildings & Grounds, Security, IT, Business Office and the Aramark contract.

http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/getting-results-new-rochelle-schools-boot-district-business-manager-john-quinn

Eastchester Elementary School Is Awarded Green Ribbon Award for Recycling in Washington

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAEastchester’s Ann Hutchinson Elementary School has just been awarded the Green Ribbon Award.

This award acknowledges the school’s achievements in taking a comprehensive approach to green schools. The areas encompassed by the award include reduced environmental impact and costs, improved health and wellness, and effective environmental and sustainability education. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated that The Anne Hutchinson School is a model of excellence and achievement in these Pillars for all other schools to follow.

Ann Hutch was  commended for the  school’s commitment to environmental stewardship, health, and sustainability and for inspiring our entire school community to aim high.

Dave O’Neil , the 5th grade teacher and driving force behind this wonderful program has been invited to celebrate Ann Hutch’s accomplishments during a nOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAational recognition event on July 22nd, 2014 in Washington D.C.

This school is following the School lunch Recycling Program  and thanks to Dave O’Neil has been showing off its remarkable success  to other schools in Westchester. This school truly buzzes with green energy. We had several organized tours and many districts are inspired to also implement the program. Make no mistake, the students are fully in-charge of the program and the tour. Be prepared to have 4th or 5th grade students tell you all about saving the world, how and what to recycle, how and what to compost and what compost is all good for. If weather permits, one even gets to view the butterfly garden, adjacent to some of the compost bins.

The Ann Hutch Website has the following write up about the Award

 

“I would like to acknowledge and thank Dave O’Neil, fifth grade teacher for spearheading our initiative to recycle and compost, Vidya Bhat, reading specialist for co-writing the Green Ribbon Award Application, and John Condon for ensuring that our facility follows all the guidelines for energy efficiency.  Most of all, I am grateful to the students and staff of the Anne Hutchinson school for working together to produce a sustainable and healthy school environment, ensuring the environmental literacy of all our graduates….it truly “takes a village”. “

Hastings-on-Hudson Schools to Implement School Lunch Recycling Program

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Recycle Garbage to GardenHastings-on-Hudson is implementing the School Lunch Recycling Program.

We Future Cycle is going to do all the preparation and set up during the summer and by September Hastings students will come back to school to fully  streamed buildings.

Each lunchroom will have a Recycling station and students will learn to separate their waste into “Commingled” “Compostable” and ” Terracycle” categories. From the current 17 bags of loose mixed garbage, Hastings will be down to less then 1/4 bag coming out of the lunchroom, all the rest will fit into the above categories. 65% of what comes out of the lunchroom is compostable.

Waste Management costs are projected to be cut in half by this measure and the school district will see a drastic decrease in use of plastic bags, a considerable expense often overlooked. Mayor Swiderski of Hastings-on-Hudson is very pleased to have this environmentally sound shift in the schools coincide with the  upcoming Plastic bag and PolyStyrene ban in October of 2014.