|
 White Plains, NY - Given the success of the year’s first expanded Household Recycling Day – which brought in tens of thousands of pills and other medications as well as plastic bags – the county is gearing up for an even larger haul at Playland Park this weekend.
Of the 855 households that brought recyclables to George’s Island in Montrose last Friday and Saturday, 109 also dropped off 205 gallons of pills, liquids, gels and ointments. That’s an average of 1.9 gallons of drugs per household. The event also garnered 38,000 plastic bags. The county also gave away 300 re-usable bags to people bringing back more than 20 plastic bags each.
Westchester is the first community in the state to start a “take back” program for medications and the plastic bag effort is also new so many people don’t even know about them yet. Once word gets out, collection amounts should increase even more.
He added that representatives of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation came to observe the medications collection with the hope of encouraging similar programs throughout the state.
The George’s Island event also brought in the usual household waste materials: 3.9 tons of documents for shredding, 6 tons of household chemicals, 2.3 tons of tires and 16.2 tons of e-waste (computer monitors, TVs, small appliances, etc.)
In a related effort, the county is encouraging local schools to conduct their own plastic bag recycling drives. Each one that participates will get a visit from the county’s Veggie Van, which is powered by used vegetable oil and provides on-board educational programs on technologies that don’t contribute to global warming. So far, 10 schools have signed on and scheduled a day when the bags will be picked up by the county.
The next Household Recycling Day is Friday, April 4 from 1-3 p.m. and Saturday, April 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Playland Park in Rye. Residents can bring unused medications and plastic bags, as well as personal papers to be shredded, pesticides, cleaning products, tires, computers, TVs and old cell phones. Get a reusable bag for bringing 20 or more plastic bags and a compact fluorescent light bulb FREE while supplies last.
Accepted items include:
- Properly labeled household chemicals including:
* Most automotive fluids – i.e., antifreeze, brake fluid, gasoline
* Flammable liquids – i.e., kerosene, butane, charcoal fluid, turpentine
* Metal, jewelry and furniture polishes and waxes; Wood preservatives
* Pesticides, insecticides, herbicides
* Photographic & swimming pool chemicals
- Cell phones
- Car tires – up to 10 tires accepted per household
- Fluorescent light bulbs
- Fire extinguishers
- Small propane tanks (1 and 2 pound tanks only)
- Rechargeable and button cell batteries
- Mercury – in their containers such as thermometers and thermostats
- TVs, computer monitors and computer towers
Items that are not accepted include oil and latex paint, motor oil, vehicle and non-rechargeable batteries, and 20-pound BBQ tanks. These items and many other special wastes can be disposed of without having to wait for a recycling event. For instance, residents can add kitty liter to oil or latex paint, air dry the mixture for a day or two, and once hardened, dispose of the paint with the garbage.
Playland Park is located at the end of Playland Parkway at Exit 19, I-95. For more information, call the county’s Household Recycling Day Info Line at (914) 813-5425.
 |
