Sustainability Committee Offers Ideas to Improve Recycling

Dear Honorable Mayor Flisser and Board of Trustees: The Scarsdale Forum's Sustainability Committee has been exploring many avenues. One of them ties in with the Village's recycling work.

The tentative Village budget for 2011-2012 includes $242,500 for waste disposal fees which are paid to the County based on tonnage collected. The budgeted 2010-2011 amount was $282,500 and the projected spending for 2010-2011 is now estimated to be $250,000. It is presumed that the anticipated $7500 lower cost for 2011-2012 is based partly on the County's upcoming acceptance of plastics 3-7, as recyclable material.

The Committee urges the Village Board to increase the public awareness of the change in County policy and the correlation between Village disposal fees, taxes and recycling, perhaps using the mayoral letters as a vehicle. If residents understand that the more they recycle, the less Scarsdale will pay in "tipping" fees, potentially lowering this line item in the Village budget, there may be greater compliance. The public should be advised that caps may remain on containers as they are also recycled. Thomas Lauro, the County Commissioner of Environmental Facilities, informed the audience of this additional change at a recent sustainability event in Bedford.

The tentative budget shows $105,000 for recycling, which our DPW head Salanitro explained includes paper, commingled recyclables and yard waste. This amount is also lower than the $112,500 expected to be spent in 2010-2011. The Committee applauds the effort to contain cost in light of the expected increase of plastics recycled.

At a Committee meeting ideas to further reduce the waste disposal fees were considered. One way could be to encourage composting. Two Committee members already use a rotating composter. Committee members asked whether it might be possible to invite vendors who make composters available to set up a table the Farmers' Market. Another idea discussed was a volume discount coordinated by Village Staff. If waste disposal fees could be reduced 10% ($24,000) the effort would seem worthwhile.

Another significant cost is leaf collection and disposal fees tentatively budgeted at $705,414. Encouraging residents to compost even some of their leaves might make a noticeable reduction in that line item. Composting is an excellent alternative to fertilizer and is environmentally friendly.

These suggestions are thought to be win-win-win. Less work for DPW crews, lower costs for residents and better for the environment.

Bruce Wells,
President Scarsdale Forum

Contacts for the Forum Sustainability Committee are co-chairs Steve Frantz and Dan Hochvert