Residents, businesses and organizations that don't recycle should watch out for this red sticker.Do you live or work in Westchester County but don't properly recycle? Well, you had better start -- unless you have a high tolerance for rotting garbage.
Starting on Jan. 7, all trash and recyclables that are not properly separated will be tagged with a yellow sticker. Then, beginning Feb. 1, your garbage will not get picked up if recyclables are not separated out. All residents, businesses, municipalities, schools and organizations in the county are affected by the new law. Some municipalities are even requiring the use of clear plastic bags to ensure compliance, though the county itself has not imposed that rule.
When its mandatory Source Separation Law [1] was adopted in 1992, Westchester County was recycling only about nine percent of its trash. In the first eight years that law was in effect, recycling rates had grown nearly five times to 42 percent in 2000. In 2006, the recycling rate topped off at 46 percent.
According to County Executive Andy Spano [2], the increased enforcement will help everyone set their sights higher. "Recycling is unquestionably one of the most important efforts we can all make to conserve natural resources and protect the environment. People cannot afford to be complacent. We all need to do more," he adds. The county also realizes significant income from recycling, which helps offset the cost of garbage collection.
The enforcement action comes after an extensive public outreach campaign. The county sent letters to all residents, businesses, organizations and schools, and held public workshops and even made an instructional video for waste managers. Besides civil and criminal penalties, licensed haulers, who collect solid waste and recyclables, may get their licenses revoked for non-compliance.
At the beginning of January, the county also began accepting recyclables from private haulers at its Material Recovery Facility [3] in Yonkers. The move will generate additional revenues for county services.
Click here [4] to see Westchester County's updated recycling guide [5].