“New York Recycles Day” is now underway, State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos announced. In observance of the day, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proclaimed Nov. 15 “New York – America Recycles Day” to highlight the state’s leadership in recycling promotion and reducing waste.
New York’s efforts complement America Recycles Day, a national initiative to promote the environmental benefits of recycling and purchasing products with recycled content. Seggos said, “Over the last 25 years, New York’s policies and programs to recycle and re-use waste have galvanized strong economic and environmental benefits, putting thousands of New Yorkers to work while preventing pollution from harming our air, water and natural resources. By participating in New York Recycles Day, our residents and municipalities can continue our efforts to lead the way in reducing the amount of waste generated and help preserve our natural resources for future generations.”
Across the state, individuals, community groups, businesses, schools and government agencies are celebrating New York Recycles Day in a variety of ways, from encouraging others to reduce their waste or take recycling pledges to starting an office or school recycling program, participating in the NY Recycles poster contest, hosting a reuse exchange, and improving awareness of local recycling rules. These combined efforts are helping to educate and inform residents about the advantages of recycling through community events throughout the state.
The state celebrated the 25th anniversary of New York’s recycling laws on Sept. 1. Since 1992, local source-separation programs have captured and diverted more than 320 million tons of recyclable materials from disposal, resulting in an estimated net emission reduction of 1 billion metric tons of CO2 – the equivalent of taking 211 million cars off the road for one year.
The New York State Solid Waste Management Act of 1988, signed into law by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, required municipalities to adopt local laws or ordinances requiring the separation and segregation of recyclable or reusable materials from solid waste.
New Yorkers generate nearly five pounds of waste per person each day, and many of these materials can be reused and recycled, saving energy and landfill space. DEC’s state solid waste management plan, “Sustainable Materials Management Strategy for New York State – Beyond Waste,” sets a long-term goal to reduce waste disposal to 0.6 pounds per person per day by 2030. Recycling is an important and necessary component to reaching this goal by diverting additional materials from the waste stream.
To read the full story, visit https://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2017/11/15/130487/dec-announces-new-york-recycles-day.