66 The QUEE NS Courier • SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Community Board 11 residents chosen for upcoming textile recycling pilot BY ALINA SURIEL asuriel@queenscourier.com @alinangelica The city’s Sanitation Department selected neighborhoods in Community Board 11 – which include Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck – to participate in a pilot program for curbside clothing and textile pickup through a special one-time collection this fall. According to Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, textiles make up about 6 percent of New York City waste. Garcia said that recycling and reusing this material will help the city reach its goal of zero waste to landfills by 2030. “Each year, city residents throw away more than 200,000 tons of clothing and textiles,” said Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. “This trial illustrates our continuing efforts to find innovative ways of recycling the most common materials found in our waste stream.” This program is a partnership with the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, Local 831, which will use existing personnel and equipment to collect the items on the overnight shift. The Community Board 11 collections are scheduled for the week of Oct. 19, and residents should leave textiles out on their recycling day during that week. DSNY will evaluate the viability of continuing the program after the collection. Board 11 was among other neighborhoods chosen for the pilot based on the high percentage of single-family homes not eligible for programs tailored for larger density buildings. The area has limited access to dropoff locations for donation of clothing and textiles. All items collected by the Board 11 was among other neighborhoods chosen for the pilot based on the high percentage of single-family homes not eligible for programs tailored for larger density buildings. sanitation department will be donated to Goodwill to help empower individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment. Residents in the designated pilot neighborhoods will receive specially marked pink-colored bags in the mail, and additional bags can be picked up from their local community board. Only one pickup will be made from each residence during their specified collection week. The Sanitation Department THE COURIER/Photo by Alina Suriel will accept clean, unwanted clothing, shoes, handbags, belts, towels, linens and curtains. Ripped or torn items will also be accepted and recycled, but books, rugs, suitcases, lamps or toys will not be accepted. DSNY expanding organics pilot program to southeast Queens BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport Five southeast Queens neighborhoods will be included in the Department of Sanitation’s (DSNY) latest expansion of the NYC Organics voluntary curbside food and yard waste recycling program this fall. Ozone Park south of 103rd Avenue and the eastern portion of Lindenwood will begin the week of Oct. 5; residents of South Ozone Park will see their organic waste collection starting the week of Oct. 12; and the collection for Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach will start the week of Nov. 2. “We are in the process of expanding our organics program,” said Iggy Terranova, DSNY representative, at a Community Board 2 meeting last week. “Queens District 10 will be the next one on the market for Queens. We’re going to see that happening … hopefully it moves really well there because we want to use that as our basis on getting it out to the rest of Queens and to the rest of the city. Brooklyn District 6 is also getting it, so we’re pushing it as far as we can to try and make it happen for the entire city.” The organic waste program allows items such as food scraps including fruits, vegetables, egg shells, pasta, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters, baked goods, meat and bones, flowers and houseplants, and food-soiled paper such as paper towels, napkins and paper plates to be properly recycled. “Organic materials make up about a third of our trash,” said Kathryn Garcia, sanitation commissioner. “When you recycle your food and yard waste, you decrease the amount of garbage going to landfills and help create a greener and healthier New York City.” The collected waste materials are managed locally and regionally. Some organic waste is turned into compost, and used locally by greening groups, such as urban farmers, community gardeners and street tree stewards to rebuild the city’s soil. All single-family homes and buildings with nine or fewer residential units will automatically be enrolled into the voluntary program. Buildings with 10 or more residential units may apply online to participate. With the organics program continuing to expand into more neighborhoods, Terranova highlighted the DSNY’s need to be prepared to properly pick up the waste. “We have been thinking about it, logistic-wise, how are we going to pick it up. We just can’t say we are going to start organics in your neighborhood and not have the trucks to come pick it up,” Terranova said. “We have to make sure we have the proper trucks … so look forward to that happening very soon.” The DSNY previously brought the organics collection program to Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village. Photo by Anthony Giudice Iggy Terranova of the Department of Sanitation announced that the organics recycling pilot program is expanding into southeast Queens.
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