Moving Towards Zero Waste

By Janet O’Connell

The January Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit program focused on reducing the amount of solid waste that we produce. Mamaroneck Town Administrator Steve Altieri, Town Supervisor Nancy Seligson and local volunteer Karen Khor described the local efforts.

Administrator Altieri explained that in 1937, the Town of Mamaroneck and the Village of Larchmont created the Sanitation Commission, a pioneering event in the area of shared services. Garbage was incinerated at Maxwell Avenue until 1970. The smoke stack now houses cellular antennas. In 1984, thirty-six communities partnered with Westchester County to avert a solid waste crisis as the federal government moved to close landfills. The consortium built the Wheelabrator Incinerator in Peekskill. Garbage is trucked to Peekskill where it is burned to create steam to produce electricity for the Peekskill area.

The Town of Mamaroneck processes between 17 and 19 thousand tons of garbage and other material each year. About 50 to 60% is recycled, including paper, commingled recycling and organic waste. The Sanitation Commission contracts with Westchester Recycling for the recycling and reuse of textiles and materials and with Furniture Sharehouse for the recycling and reuse of furniture. Even though our residents are “avid recyclers,” according to Mr. Altieri, we are again approaching a crisis because China has stopped taking most U.S. plastic waste.

Supervisor Seligson, a pioneer of the concept of collecting food waste locally, described the Town’s Food Waste Recycling Program. She explained that food comprises about 30% of our garbage weight. “Think about a cucumber. It is heavy and all water. Burning water is not efficient.” Composting food scraps produces soil enhancement, which maximizes plant growth, prevents soil erosion and decreases the amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides that gardeners and farmers use.

The Town’s food recycling program was rolled out at the Maxwell Avenue Sanitation Center in September 2017. Local citizen volunteers went to community events such as outdoor concerts and Larchmont Day, as well as visiting schools, to raise awareness of the importance of achieving Zero Waste. St. Augustine’s Church was first among local houses of worship to engage in “Zero Waste” events, led by parishioner and Larchmont resident Karen Khor and others. Ms. Khor currently serves on the TOM Sustainability Committee.

At this time households can purchase a starter kit for $20 at Maxwell Avenue Sanitation Center. The kit includes a 2-gallon countertop pail, a 6-gallon home storage and transportation bin, and one roll of 25 compostable bags. Unlike a back-yard composter, bones, meat and paper are permitted, which enormously reduces the amount of garbage that households produce each week. Residents of the Village of Larchmont and unincorporated Town of Mamaroneck can drop off their food waste at the Maxwell Avenue Recycling Center. Residents of the Village of Mamaroneck can drop off at the sanitation facility on Fayette Avenue. The food waste goes to the Ulster Resource Recovery Agency.

County Legislator Catherine Parker stated that Westchester County will soon renegotiate the contract with the Wheelabrator Incinerator in Peekskill and will be renegotiating the contracts with the 36 municipalities that make up the Westchester County Refuse District.

Ms. Seligson said we must continue to find ways to reduce our solid waste to lower cost and to reduce taxes. She suggests a “Pay as You Throw” system. Rather than have garbage collection be included in everyone’s property tax bills, residents would be charged only for the number of garbage bags that they fill. This could dramatically decrease garbage and trash. “If we can reduce the amount of plastic and the amount of solid waste, we are going to fix a lot of problems in our world,” Ms. Seligson concluded.

Visit LMCTV.org to see a rebroadcast of the January 15th Summit meeting. Click here for tips on what you can do to move closer to Zero Waste.

This breakfast forum was hosted by the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit. Its next breakfast meeting will be on Tuesday, February 12th, 2019 at 7:45 at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck and will be a presentation by Radar on drug use by youth in our community. All are welcome. Breakfast $8.