| Wasted Materials | Recycling | Food-Scrapping! | Green Living in Irvington/Westchester County | Fun Facts | Yard Waste |
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What are Wasted Materials?
Materials that are perceived to have zero or negative value?
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What are Reduce, Reuse, Recycle?
These are the three R’s of environmental sustainability.
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What is Composting?
The biological process of breaking down organic matter, such as food scraps and yard waste, into a nutrient-rich soil amendment, aka Recycling Foodscraps.
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What is the Irvington Green Team?
This is the name of our Village’s Committee on sustainability.
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What are Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)?
Fun Fact: Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Ozone and Nitrous Oxide are examples of GHGs.
The collective name for atmospheric compounds that absorb and retain heat from the sun contributing to climate change.
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What is Yard Waste?
This consists of grass, leaves, and tree and brush trimmings.
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What is 80%?
This percentage of materials are thrown away but actually still have value (approximately)?
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What is Recycling?
This is the process of collecting and reprocessing materials into new products instead of throwing them away?
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What are Greens?
These are the nitrogen-rich, high-moisture materials that decompose quickly, providing essential nutrients for microbes. Examples include fresh kitchen scraps like orange peels and coffee grounds.
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What is the Household Material Recovery Facility (H-MRF)?
This facility in Valhalla accepts household hazardous waste and other items worthy of special handling from Westchester County residents year-round. But don’t just show up! Appointments are required.
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What are Fossil Fuels?
Fun Fact: Renewable energy is now often cheaper to generate than electricity from new fossil fuel plants, making the transition an economic choice, not just an environmental one.
Used in both transportation and electricity production, these fuels are the largest energy source in the US.
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What is Protein? (What is Nitrogen / Phosphorus? also acceptable!)
Mulching grass and leaving the clippings in place cuts down on emissions from hauling and provides the lawn with this essential nutrient.
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What is Municipal Solid Waste?
The acronym for this is MSW but we usually refer to it as trash or garbage.
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What is Plastic?
The petroleum industry promised high recycling rates for this material, but only about 6% of it is recycled annually in the US.
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What are Kitchen Browns?
These are the dry, carbon-rich materials like shredded newspaper/cardboard, paper towels, and coffee filters that help balance the compost pile by providing structure and preventing it from becoming a wet, stinky mess.
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What are Cell Phones (and their batteries/accessories)?
It is against the law to dispose of these in the garbage in Westchester County. (Hint: every single one of you probably has one on your person at this very moment.)
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What is Earth Day?
Fun Fact: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which regulates mechanisms to protect the environment, was created on Dec. 2, 1970 as a direct response to the first Earth Day. According to the EPA, Congress formed the agency after witnessing the huge participation in Earth Day demonstrations across the country.
Falling on April 22, this holiday celebrates the ideas of peace and environmental responsibility.
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What are Leaves?
Common lawn and plant fertilizers contain Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. Mulching these in place provides the same - allowing savvy homeowners to save money on pricey soil amendments.
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What is Wasted Food?
While "food waste" can include both edible food and inedible parts like peels and rinds that are not suitable for consumption and are typically composted or used for other purposes, this refers to food that is still edible but is discarded.
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What is Steel / Iron?
This material is recycled by weight in larger quantities than any other material. It can be recycled infinitely without losing its properties, and recycling it uses significantly less energy than extracting new.
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What are Carbon and Nitrogen?
A ratio between these two elements is important for composting.
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What is a Repair Cafe?
This local group of skilled volunteers work to repair small household items such as lamps, jewelry, and textiles.
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What is Oxygen?
Fun Fact:
Turning your compost pile regularly prevents odors and GHG production, helps your compost break down faster, and adds this element to your compost.
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What is an Algae Bloom?
Fun Fact: "Algal" is a more formal or scientific adjective form, while "Algae" can also function as an adjective, making both terms correct. "Harmful Algal Bloom" (or H.A.B.) is a specific type of bloom that can be toxic. They are two variations of the same term to describe a rapid overgrowth of algae.
An unusually high amount of nutrients in a body of water is called nutrient over-loading and often leads to this unwelcome, and sometimes toxic condition.
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What is a Circular Economy?
In this type of economy, products and materials are designed in such a way that they are NOT WASTED; ie they can be reused, remanufactured, recycled or recovered (4-Rs) and thus maintained in the economy for as long as possible, along with the resources of which they are made.
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Who is M.C. Escher?
Gary Anderson created the chasing arrows symbol in 1970 which we all know as the Recycling Symbol. Anderson credits this artist’s Möbius strip as his inspiration.
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What is BPI Certified Compostable?
This label on packaging signifies that it is made of plants and therefore compostable.
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What is the incinerator in Peekskill (called Wheelabrator)?
Fun Fact: All waste disposal methods release greenhouse gases, and it's hard to make comparisons. But there's only one solution that doesn't contribute to climate change at all: not making waste in the first place.
In Westchester County, everything we put in the trash goes to this disposal system.
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What is Soft Plastic Film?
Fun Fact: The Irvington Green Team just launched a challenge with Trex (the decking company) to collect and recycle 1,000 pounds of clean, dry, stretchy plastic film in one year! If we can reach our goal we get a free Trex bench! Drop off at Tappan Cleaners, the Post Office, the Library, Village Hall and the Irvington Farmers Market!
This material cannot be picked up by the Village’s DPW for recycling because it creates processing problems by clogging the County sorting equipment, increasing maintenance costs and seriously degrading the market value of the material sold. It can, however, be recycled at large grocery stores, like Stop & Shop.
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What is Compost?
One cubic yard of this soil amendment is FREE to all customers of our local curbside food-scrap pick-up service (HCS) annually!
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What is irvingtongreen.org?
The best website for Irvingtonians to find information about sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions!
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