Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced
an agreement with Hempstead's Sanitary District No. 1 to
implement an improved recycling program that will fully comply
with New York State law.
In litigation between the State and the District, Nassau
County Supreme Court Judge William R. LaMarca ruled in August
2007 that under New York State law all municipalities must
adopt ordinances to requiring residents to separate recyclables
from trash prior to collection and processing. This "source
separation" is intended to achieve the maximum recycling
of valuable materials such as paper, plastics, glass, and
metal. Sanitary District No. 1’s original ordinance
did not provide for mandatory source separation. Instead
the District collected and processed mixed refuse at its
own refuse processing facility where it was mechanically
and manually sorted to reclaim recyclable materials.
As a result of the court decision and discussions with the
Attorney General, the District amended its ordinance in July
to mandate source separation, and will soon commence a new
collection program for source separated materials. The
District will distribute 18,000 new recyclables containers
to residents, substitute a recyclables collection for a day
of garbage collection, and continue to utilize its existing
facility to sort and process source separated recyclables
and other materials. New York State believes that source
separation is critical to effective recycling in municipalities.
The District’s new program is expected to increase
the quantity of recyclables recovered from the waste stream,
avoid higher disposal costs, and increase revenue from the
sale of recovered materials.
“It is our strong belief that the District’s
new enhanced recycling program, which will combine homeowner
separation of recyclables with the continued operation of
our Materials Recovery Facility, will enable the District
to achieve the highest recycling rate in New York State. It
is designed to maximize the recovery of revenue-producing
materials and minimize the costs to our taxpayers”,
said Irving Kaminetsky, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners
of Sanitary District No. 1.
oct 2008 |
