Tag Archives: garbage

Why food composting can save Westchester’s taxpayer money, big time!

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Food waste is around 40% of all waste from households, it is made up of mainly water, thus it is heavy. Garbage cost is calculated by weight. So all this water is costing the tax payer dearly.

Westchester’s garbage is being collected by the municipalities, brought to one of the several transfer stations within the county and from there it is transported in big trucks to the incinerator in Peekskill.

So basically, we are using fossil fuels  (garbage trucks get about 2.6 miles per gallon of diesel fuel) to truck water 50 miles north?

The far better solution would be to sort out all that water laden food waste and actually compost it.  Combine food waste with yard waste and  nature will give us black gold, aka compost.

The absolute best way is to do it right at home. Solon-Compost-Bin-4Have a little bin next to your sink and sort out all your food waste (no bones or meats though, home composters can’t handle that, commercial ones can)

And place that food waste in a ratio of 1 food waste to 3 leaves or woodchips into a composter. It can be a home made one, compost-4-940x626

or a commercially available one like these. And the rest is done by mother nature. Turning the mixture once in a while will introduce oxygen and thus help the bacteria to do a more efficient job. Earth_Machine_close

A few weeks later you will have lovely compost that can be used in your garden.

Most people are afraid that composting will be smelly or attract rodents. With all in life, if it is done right, there is none of that.

Fabulous Way to Deal with Surplus Good Used Things

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unnamed (1)Meet Joseph Nicoletti, the Commissioner of DPW in White Plains in front of his most fabulous TILI.

TILI stands for Take it or Leave it. A place to donate good used surplus household items, garden toys, household tools, play items, building supplies, exercise equipment, old but working condition TVs and all those things that really should be re-used, rather then chucked into the garbage. unnamed (3)

And at the same time, a place to pick up that extra vase, the drying rack, the home bike and those large outdoor plastic kids toys.

The front is built from recycled materials and is made to look like an old western style store, but behind the sliding doors are two shipping containers that keep things nice and dry. The TILI is staffed by volunteers and does vivid business during opening hours. unnamed (2)

What a great idea, something that should be replicated in each community.

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.

Mothering Mother Reinvents Produce Bags, An Extension To On-Going Plastic Bag Ban Efforts

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Over 50,000 communities world wide have woken up to the fact that single use plastic bags are BAD!

Bad for the environment, bad for the municipalities, bad for the tax payers.

They never biodegrade, they clog up sewer systems, they hang decoratively from trees, they get into our food chain, they kill animals,  and there are thousands more reasons why they are bad.

However most single use plastic ban legislation does not cover the plastic produce bags that are commonly used to package produce.

Unfortunately these plastic produce bags are often mistaken for candy by the consumer. I have seen shoppers pulling on that roll with such vigor, taking 10-20 bags at a time, to then package up in each bag one bundle of already plastic wrapped bananas, and one plastic wrapped ice berg lettuce head. And most don’t use all bags they pre-pulled, and leave them laying in their cart for the wind to carry off. No thought.

Fortunately, there is a WAY better solution.0603_1900-209x300

Mothering Mother, a company founded by Pelham Resident Sydney McInnes, has tackled just Combined-230x230that problem.  Their cotton reusable bags help to make the commitment to health with reusable produce bags, bulk bags and totes. Shopping with cotton gives a gentle, ongoing reminder to eat well, for your health and the health of the planet. Bag single use plastic habits once and for all!  

Check out their website at MotheringMother.com

 

 

 

 

 

GETTING RESULTS: New Rochelle BOE Provides Recycling Cans at Board meeting

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Having an Exit Plan is vital to any organization, and at last nights BOE meeting, after agitating the issue for a long time, FINALLY an exit plan for the offered plastic bottles was offered. Prominently featured, right next to the table, right next to the small garbage can was a blue, large recycling bin.

And ….oh wonder, oh wonder…. when the logistics are offered and visible, the bin was used and there was not a single plastic bottle in the garbage.

I credit Dr Korostoff’s policy of open door and giving me the support in my work. I also credit the custodian Derrick Burford for embracing the concept. He has shown me how he collects bottles out of the trash throughout the BOE Central Offices and places them in one central recycling can. He was very receptive to my explanation that plastic cups also belong into the category, not just bottles, and he immediately began also placing other rigid plastics into recycling.

As Neil Armstrong so famously said: ” That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. I think the same can apply here.

Way to go.

New Rochelle Trinity Students Honored at Green Writing Contest Celebration

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe auditorium at New Rochelle’s Trinity Elementary school was filled with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders today and they were so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.  At 9:30 am Assistant Principal Inas Morsi Hogans and Principal  DiCarlo welcomed Ms Jean Chin and Ms Irene Schindler to their school for the first Green Writing Contest Celebration in Honor of Nina Chin.

Nina Chin was a teacher in whose honor the family is giving a grant to one school per year to host a Green Writing Contest. Anna Giordano was honored to be chosen as administrator for this grant.

Ms Jean Chin shared with the students the story of her mother and how Nina Chin has tried to always make a difference and had offered writing contest prizes from her own money for decades to encourage her students to be high achievers.  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Trinity school has shown exemplary efforts to reduce its footprint with consistent recycling in the lunchroom and was chosen as awarded school.

26 students rose to the challenge of writing an essay or poem to the topic ” I can make a difference”. The entries were judged by three independent judges and they shared with me afterwards that there was a wealth of lovely entries and it was a really hard choice as to who would snag the coveted cash prizes.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

7 students were awarded a  cash prize and every participant got a certificate and a hug from Ms Schindler, who is a published author, a  national prize winner for many writing contests, with over 70 (!) years of teaching experience.  She spoke to the children about winning a Chevrolet Bel Air at some point, and audible gasps of surprise came from the adults in the room.

Ms Morsi Hogans read excerpts from a few essays and it was very powerful to hear their words and their commitment on how each and every single one wants to make a difference.  All parents were clutching a tissue, it was very moving.

A lovely and inspiring celebration.

 

Environmental Change Can Come Fast with the Right Leaders in New Rochelle

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIn January of 2014, I gave this speech to the New Rochelle BOE reminding them yet again, that Styrofoam is BAD and that the lack of district wide recycling is costing the tax payer huge money. This is not a new tune, for three years, without fail I have been singing this tune and slowly but surely things moved.

It started with Mr Quinn finally admitting that recycling is needed (June of 2012), to him admitting that we need to be better at it by sending out a memo to remind all staff about the recycling laws in January 2013. I guess, he was tired of my bi-weekly speeches and constant emails with pictures of recyclables in the trash at the different New Rochelle schools.

IMG_20130307_134401In September of 2013, after my speech about Barnard not having ever used their recycling container and Isaac Young using theirs to collect water, Ms Brickle finally asked to put this topic on the agenda.

In January of 2014, despite my regular pushing, still nothing has been set. So I presented this speech to them.

http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/remarks-board-ed-waste-waste-management-january-28-2014-meeting

This speech was the tipping point for Dr Korostoff to take decisive action. By April of 2014  Styrofoam was abandoned in 3 pilot schools, food waste composting and full source separation was established and garbage went down from 22 bags to a mere two handfuls.

And with that came the realization that a complete waste management revamp, as I had lobbied for for years, is not only possible, but advisable.

The plan is to have the other schools join the different environmental programs by September, as well as have the current garbage system completely revamped to allow for source separated material disposal, while saving the tax payer close to $500.000.

This shows that Environmental Change CAN come very fast with decisive leaders.

 

Yonkers considering Styrofoam ban and School Lunch Recycling Program

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Last night We Future Cycle had the opportunity to present the school lunch recycling program to the City Council of Yonkers.

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Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in New York State with 24,000 students in 39 schools. All schools are using exclusively EPS (Styrofoam) disposable trays.  Which means every school is producing depending on size between 15 – 30 bags of garbage per lunch.

Every. School.  Every. Single. Day.

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Councilman Michael Sabatino is trying to change that. He has proposed to eliminate all single use food Styrofoam items over the next two years.  A wonderful proposal.

The School Lunch Recycling Program offered by We Future Cycle changes the way schools organize lunch. Instead of teaching the kids to “just throw it out”, students are taught to empty extra liquids into a bucket and sort their drink container, then students empty their left over food into the compost bucket and stack their tray. Simple. Continue reading Yonkers considering Styrofoam ban and School Lunch Recycling Program →