Solid Waste & Recycling Newsletter

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent this bulletin on 02/18/2021 10:49 AM EST
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DEC Delivers - Information to keep you connected and informed from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Share or view as a web page || Update preferences or unsubscribe

Solid Waste & Recycling Newsletter 

Thinking Clearly About Glass Recycling

Glass is a highly recyclable material, capable of being melted down and reshaped virtually infinitely. The best way to keep glass bottles and jars in circulation is to put them in your recycling bin or if an item has a deposit, return it to get your deposit back.

Collect your 5 cent glass deposit

Bottle Bill
New York’s beverage container deposit law (aka Bottle Bill) is designed to provide an incentive to recycle.

  • Claim your 5 cents. When you are done with your glass beverage container that has a deposit, be sure to return it to a redemption center or store to cash-in on your money; that 5 cents belong to you! Glass bottles with deposits include carbonated soft drinks, beer and other malt beverages, mineral water, soda water, water, and wine coolers.
  • Make sure glass deposit bottles are clean, empty and the caps are removed before returning them. When you recycle these deposit items in your recycling bin, you don’t get your nickel back.

Know What’s In
Most recycling programs accept clean and empty glass items such as pickle and spaghetti jars and bottles that don’t have a NY deposit and many suggest removing lids from these items – so be sure to check your local recycling rules before putting items in your bin.

Know What’s Out
Some glass items have special coatings or different melting points than regular bottles and jars and when mixed in with other glass for recycling, result in contamination.

  • Glass that should never go into a recycling bin: light bulbs, drinking glasses, mirrors or windows, glass cookware, ceramic items like cookware, dinner plates, bowls, mugs, and casserole dishes/pie plates.

Reuse
Before throwing glass items away, can you think of a creative way to reuse them? From storage and organization to arts and crafts, bottles and jars have almost infinite uses around the home or office. Is there somewhere you can donate unwanted household glass items such as cookware and glassware?

Be sure to check your local recycling rules, and if we all work together, we can recycle glass right!

DEC Grants for Household Hazardous Waste Programs - Closing Soon

Funding is available for grants to assist municipalities in New York State with costs associated with household hazardous waste (HHW) collection and disposal. Grants are offered to match eligible costs of HHW collection days or construction of permanent HHW collection facilities to provide a safe alternative for recycling or disposal of household hazardous materials.

State funding will reimburse up to 50 percent of the costs of municipal HHW collection programs. DEC will be accepting applications only during January and February of 2021 for projects that were completed during January - December 2020.

Applications must be submitted in the Grants Gateway no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, February 26, 2021.

For more information, visit DEC's Household Hazardous Waste Assistance Grants.

Events:

Conferences, Workshops & Webinars:

DEC Proposed Regulations

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.