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Westchester Material Recovery Expands Recycling To Beverage Cartons

YONKERS, N.Y. -- Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino announced on Earth Day that residents of the county’s Refuse Disposal District will be able to include beverage cartons when they put their recyclables out to the curb for collection. 

Residents of the Westchester County’s Refuse Disposal District are now able to include beverage cartons when they put their recyclables out to the curb for collection.

Residents of the Westchester County’s Refuse Disposal District are now able to include beverage cartons when they put their recyclables out to the curb for collection.

Photo Credit: Contributed

The Daniel P. Thomas Material Recovery Facility in Yonkers processes residential recyclables for the municipalities that are within the RDD, which comprises over 90 percent of the county’s population. Last year, when the county and City Carting executed a five-year contract extension, Astorino negotiated for City Carting to pay for the purchase and installation of screening equipment to enhance the facility’s cardboard and paper recycling capabilities. 

The new equipment requires less hand-sorting of paper recyclables, which allowed for the redeployment of personnel to hand-sort beverage containers. As of April 25, district residents are able to include the cartons with their commingled recyclables (glass, plastic and metal recyclables) for collection by their refuse hauler. Recyclable cartons consist predominantly of cardboard and include waxy cartons used for juice and milk, soup and broth, cream, and egg substitutes. Although mostly made of cardboard, the cartons should be included with other recyclable beverage containers made of glass, plastic and metal for collection; they should not be included with paper and cardboard recyclables. 

Astorino said, “As greater awareness of beverage carton recycling spreads among residents, Westchester can expect to see a slight increase in the countywide recycling rate. Robust recycling markets displace demand for virgin materials when new products are manufactured. The MRF equipment upgrade is the latest effort by the county to divert more materials from the trash, conserving resources while protecting the environment.”

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