Thursday, October 1, 2026
Sea Cliff Trustees considered ways to ensure recycling effectiveness and methods to inform residents of the village’s recycling process as they continued their recycling discussion at the latest Board of Trustees public conference meeting.
Waste related topics have come up at every board meeting since residents first voiced concerns about recycling and an interest in a village composting program at the public meeting on June 8. Trustees further deliberated ways to inform residents about the recycling process at the Monday night meeting.
Trustees looked ahead to the expiration of the village’s contract with Waste Management, the company that acquired Winters Bros. in 2024 and handles Sea Cliff’s waste. The contract is up in October 2027. Trustees began discussing potential changes to the village’s recycling process.
Sea Cliff currently uses single-stream recycling, meaning residents can place all recyclables in one bin. Mayor Elena Villafane explained at the village’s Environmental Conservation Commission meeting on July 16 that single-stream was originally chosen under the reasoning that more residents would recycle if the process was easier. She said Monday night that the ECC has said that a dual-stream process, where recyclables are separated into two categories, might be more effective.
Village Administrator Bruce Kennedy added that single-stream may be more effective in getting people to comply, but dual-stream may be more effective in getting recyclables to their proper destination.
The Town of Oyster Bay keeps seven “igloo” locations, one of which is at Harry Tappen Beach in Glenwood Landing. These igloos are locations for dropping off glass to be recycled. Glass can also be placed in residents’ curbside recycling.
Trustee George Williams suggested the village get its own igloo, so that residents do not have to go to Tappen. Residents can drop off glass at Tappen because Sea Cliff is an incorporated village in the Town of Oyster Bay.
“I think the issue is not necessarily putting it into the igloo,” Deputy Mayor Nick Pinto said. “I think it’s where it’s going after the igloo. I think that’s always been the conversation.”
He added that he thinks bringing bottles and cans to redemption centers, a recommendation Kennedy made at the July 16 ECC meeting after a conversation with representatives at Waste Management, is most effective in ensuring glass is recycled or repurposed.
“If we do have our own igloo, maybe that will get more people to recycle (glass),” Pinto said. “But the end product is still going to the same place if you have the same handler.”
Kennedy said he does not know what the expense of the igloos is to the Town of Oyster Bay or how many people are complying. He also pointed out that some people may not drop off glass and instead include it with their curbside recycling, and that people outside the Town of Oyster Bay may be using the igloos.
“What I do know,” Kennedy said, “is I’m dealing with solid waste professionals to see what is the best-case scenario and can we get people to buy in?”
Trustees also continued to discuss the most effective way to inform residents of the village’s recycling process. Kennedy reiterated that the ECC should be tasked with formulating messaging, an idea that has been considered at past meetings. Kennedy, Villafane and Pinto all attended the ECC meeting on July 16, where the recycling process was discussed.
Information about how Sea Cliff’s recycling is handled has been included in recent issues of the Sea Cliff Circle Newsletter, sent by email semi-monthly. Villafane pointed out that not all residents are “electronically tied in.”
Kennedy said he has received messages from residents with questions and concerns about what they can recycle.
“I get emails from people,” he said, “saying, ‘I don’t think you’re allowed to do pizza boxes because it’s got grease on it.’” Pizza boxes can be recycled without leftover food scraps or liners, according to Waste Management’s website. Waste Management is the company that handles Sea Cliff’s garbage and recycling.
Williams relayed new guidelines he found online about certain bottle caps having instructions to leave them on the bottles when recycling. He also mentioned reading about new tags or symbols on recyclables and noted that there is a lot of information for people to remember.
Kennedy raised the question of what level of detail would be most effective in messaging to residents.
“That’s why I want to work with the ECC to come up with the best messaging to reach the broadest base in the best way we can,” Kennedy said. “Some people, they want minute detail, and other people are like ‘Just give me pictures.’”
Pinto suggested adding an interactive section to the village’s new website, incorporating information from the ECC in a click-through style. He described the hypothetical website feature as “user friendly” and something that could answer questions.
“I think that could be effective, and I don’t think it would cost us a dime,” Pinto said. “And I don’t think it’s creating more waste.”
Trustees considered Pinto’s idea, and Villafane asked Village Clerk Sarah Beaudin if the new website could accommodate such a feature. No final decision was made on whether to include the feature, or if the website allowed for it.
Villafane said that the board must consult ECC Chair Fred Black to move forward on a first draft about recycling in the village for a piece in the next village bulletin, set to come out in September.
Regarding composting, Villafane said she would set up a meeting with ECC member Laura Russo to discuss the composting business plan she submitted to the Board of Trustees in July.
“We need to start working on how we can move the composting to the next stage,” Villafane said.
The business plan focuses mainly on beginning to scale up the community composting program, in which 10 families have been participating on a weekly basis since December.
Villafane asked trustees to go over the business plan and send her their comments. Russo was present on Monday night, and Villafane approached her immediately after the conference meeting was concluded to schedule a meeting.
