Westchester continues recycling as many cities shut down programs

While many cities and counties across the country are shutting down recycling programs, Westchester is not.

News 12 Staff

Mar 21, 2019, 9:13 PM

Updated 1,860 days ago

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Westchester continues recycling as many cities shut down programs
While many cities and counties across the country are shutting down recycling programs, Westchester is not.
Officials told News 12 that 50 percent of all waste in Westchester County is recycled. In 2018, 70,000 tons of recyclables – two and a half times the weight of the Statue of Liberty -- were taken to the Material Recovery Facility in Yonkers.
The most recycled materials are paper and cardboard. Plastic and metal are taken in as well, each sorted into piles to be sold on the market.
Last year, China, which bought the bulk of the world's recycling, decided to restrict imports on recyclable materials.
Westchester County markets bails of recycled materials to buyers in the United States. Two years ago, the county made $6 million on recyclables; last year, the county made $4.2 million.
Recycling guidelines include placing paper into one bin and plastics, metal and glass into another.
Plastic bags must be taken to the grocery store for recycling, as opposed to placed in a recycling bin.
 


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