Solid Waste & Recycling Newsletter

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent this bulletin on 11/19/2020 02:25 PM EST
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Solid Waste & Recycling Newsletter 

Newsletter Highlights

  • Cooking Smart for Thanksgiving
  • Can I Recycle That? - Thanksgiving Edition
  • USCC Emerging Composter Competition Now Accepting Applications
  • USCC Call for Annual Award Nominations
  • Request for Input from Recycling & Organics Recovery Facilities
  • Upcoming Events, Awards, Conferences, Funding Opportunities

Cooking Smart for Thanksgiving

While fall and winter holidays might look a little different this year, we can still celebrate and enjoy delicious food while staying safe and doing our best to prevent wasted food. Downsize your favorite holiday recipes to prevent waste, and opt for smaller dinners with members of your household. You can also safely prepare and deliver meals to friends and loved ones, especially those at higher risk of complications from COVID-19.

Waste less food this holiday season:

However you choose to celebrate, please follow all New York State Department of Health and CDC guidelines regarding preventing the transmission of COVID-19 and safer holiday celebrations.

Can I Recycle That? – Thanksgiving Edition

Soiled Foil Pans

With the traditional Thanksgiving meal comes pots and pans, a myriad of empty containers, and dishes crowding countertops. As the cleanup ensues, it is important to recycle right and recognize what can go in your home recycling bin and what cannot.

Tips for Recycling on Thanksgiving:

  • Glassware and ceramic dishes should not go into your home recycling bin. Drinking glasses, dinnerware, and baking dishes, whether whole or in pieces, should not be put in your home recycling bin. However, glass items like empty food jars are usually acceptable to put in your home recycling bin.
  • Recycle metal cans and plastic bottles. You might also have steel cans from cranberry sauce or jugs and bottles of juice and milk. Empty metal cans and empty plastic bottles and jugs can also typically go in your home recycling bin.
  • Leave the liquids behind. Show your thanks for recycling and recycling workers by making sure food scraps and liquids are not disposed of in your recycling bin.
  • And the soiled pie pans too. Soiled disposable foil bakeware and pans, such as those used for pies, casseroles, and breads, should not go in your recycling bin.
  • Check before you toss. If you’re unsure if an item can go in your recycling bin, check your municipality’s recycling rules or those provided by your recycling hauler.

USCC Emerging Composter Competition Now Accepting Applications

As leaders in composting, compost-allied business, and compost research, United States Composting Council (USCC) and Composting Research & Education Foundation are proud to host the 2021 Emerging Composter Competition. The Emerging Composter Competition is an annual business pitch/poster competition, open to young professionals looking to showcase their business and/or research within the composting, compostable products, and organics recycling space. Applicants from college students to any business (that meets requirements) that recycles or supports the recycling of organics are encouraged to apply.

Three winners will be awarded cash prizes starting at $500.

Applicants must be:

  • 18 – 40 years old;
  • Able to submit digital presentations;
  • Have revenue of less than $100K;
  • Have a maximum of three years in business (if applicable); and
  • Must work in the compost, compostable products, or organics recycling/zero waste space.

Finalists will be given the opportunity to showcase their project in front of a wide, national audience of composters, investors, academics, and entrepreneurs at the USCC Virtual Annual Conference January 26-27, 2021. Submit your application by December 11, 2020.

Help share the competition using the USCC Emerging Composter Competition Outreach toolkit.

USCC Call for Annual Award Nominations

Eight awards are given by the USCC to distinguish outstanding members of the composting community in a variety of industry categories. The awards will be presented at the Annual Conference, January 26 - 27, 2021. You must be a USCC member to submit a nomination. Nominations are due November 25, 2020 by 9:00 p.m.

  • Compost Manufacturer of the Year - Large Scale
  • Compost Manufacturer of the Year - Small Scale
  • Organics Diversion Program of the Year
  • Hi Kellogg Award: Awarded to an individual who has displayed outstanding service to the U.S. composting industry over a period of many years.
  • Rufus Chaney Award: Awarded to an individual who has displayed excellence in the area of compost research over a period of many years.
  • H. Clark Gregory Award: Awarded to an individual who has displayed outstanding service to the compost industry through various grassroots efforts.
  • Clean Water Award: Awarded to a person or company in the compost industry or related field who has completed projects that positively impacted water quality via the use of organics or increased awareness of the link between quality soils, compost and water quality.
  • Jerome Goldstein Lifetime Achievement Award: Awarded to an individual who has achieved excellence in their field of study and to honor those who have made significant contributions over their professional career to the field of environmental stewardship and natural resource sustainability.

Request for Input from Recycling & Organics Recovery Facilities

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry have developed two surveys as part of a research and demonstration project to determine the extent of waste paper disposal at recycling facilities; characterize the main characteristics of waste papers; identify major causes of contamination of the paper stream; and determine the potential for recovering various types of waste paper for diversion to composting facilities.

Recyclables Handing & Recovery Facilities
This survey is intended for those who own, operate, or manage recyclables handling and recovery facilities and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. We are interested in learning about the characteristics of non-recyclable, or non-marketable, waste paper that is generated at your facility.

Organics Recovery Facilities
This survey is intended for those who own, operate, or manage organics recovery facilities and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. We are interested in learning about New York State composting operations and determining whether facilities currently process or have interest in processing waste papers.

One or both of the surveys must be completed by November 25, 2020. Survey responses will be used to inform the next stage of the research and demonstration project, including follow-up interviews and identifying potential partnerships. Survey results will be aggregated by the research team in order to assess present and future capacity on a statewide level. If you have any questions regarding the survey or the use of survey results, please email SUNY ESF Research Assistant Michaela Regner at mregner@syr.edu.

Events:

Awards - Nomination Deadlines

Conferences, Workshops & Public Comment Hearings:

Funding/RFP Opportunities - Application Deadlines

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 and it could be featured in an upcoming Solid Waste & Recycling Newsletter.