Solid Waste & Recycling Newsletter 

DEC Environmental Excellence Awards

Is your organization, business, school, municipality or agency taking innovative approaches, advancing sustainable practices, generating economic growth or harnessing the power of creative partnerships? You could be one of New York's next Environmental Excellence Award winners! Submit your application by Wednesday April 17, 2019.

2019 NYS Organics Summit

Registration closing March 21st for the 5th annual NYS Organics Summit: Growing Local Roots! This year's summit, March 26 - 27, 2019 at Casa Larga Vineyards, Fairport, NY, will focus on strengthening regional connections for diverting wasted food and food scraps from disposal, overcoming pressing challenges faced by the organics recycling industry and much more. View the full agenda and register today!

Green School Grant Program

All public and private K-12 schools in NYS are eligible to apply for up to $500 in funding to support existing programs or to develop new programs centered around the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle). Applications are due Wednesday, April 3, 2019. Apply today!

Pharmaceutical Take Back Boxes

Through its Pilot Pharmaceutical Take Back Program, DEC has placed over 250 pharmaceutical collection boxes in pharmacies, hospitals and long-term care facilities across the state to encourage the safe disposal of unused and expired drugs. This has kept five tons of unwanted medications out of home medicine cabinets, thereby reducing the potential of being abused and kept  out of NYS waters, including drinking water supplies.

The goal of the program is to: ensure safe, convenient disposal of unwanted medications; show retailers it’s their responsibility to encourage safe and convenient medication disposal; and protect public health, public safety and the environment.

Do Your Part

For the location of an authorized disposal location near you, visit DEC’s Safe Medication Disposal for Households webpage.

Upcoming events

• March 23, 2019: Repair Café - New Paltz
• March 30, 2019: Composting Workshop - Cornwall
• Order by April 1, 2019: Backyard Compost Bin Sale - Town of Bethlehem
• April 6, 2019: Repair Café - Rosendale
• April 6, 2019: Repair Café - Red Hook
• April 6, 2019: Repair Café - Schenectady
• April 13, 2019: Dare to Repair Café - Buffalo
• April 13, 2019: Repair Café - Poughkeepsie
• April 13, 2019: Repair Café - Hastings
• April 20, 2019: Household Hazardous Waste Collection - Tompkins County
• Order by April 25, 2019: Backyard Compost Bin Sale - Orange County
• April 27, 2019: Household Hazardous Waste Collection - Town of North Hempstead
• April 28, 2019: Household Hazardous Waste Collection - Town of North Hempstead
• NYC Recycling Events

Conferences & Workshops

• March 20 - 21, 2019: NERC Spring Workshop - Wilmington, DE
• March 26 - 27, 2019: 2019 Organics Summit: Growing Local Roots - Rochester
• May 7 - 8, 2019: 2019 Regional Recycling Impact Workshop - Massachusetts
• May 8, 2019: 2019 Sustainable Business Summit - Buffalo
• May 11 - 14, 2019: Cultivating Community Composting Forum - New York City
• May 19 - 22, 2019: Federation Conference - Lake George
• May 23, 2019: NYC Food Waste Fair - NYC
• August 5 - 9, 2019: USCC Composter Operations Training Course - Ithaca

Funding Opportunities - Application Deadlines

• March 15, 2019: NYSAR3 College Council Grant Program
• April 3, 2019: NYSAR3 K-12 Green School Grant Program
• April 12, 2019: CCREF National Compost Research Scholarship

Award Opportunities - Application Deadlines

• April 17, 2019: DEC Environmental Excellence Award

We Want To Hear From You!

Is there a topic you'd like to learn more about or a public event or workshop related to recycling (organics, textiles, traditional recyclables, etc.) you'd like the greater community to know more about? E-mail us at: organicrecycling@dec.ny.gov.