Thursday, October 1, 2026
Sea Cliff’s Environmental Conservation Commission discussed strategies for public outreach and a potential new recycling method, taking input from other residents. The Sea Cliff Board of Trustees has tasked the ECC with developing public messaging to educate residents about recycling.
Chair Fred Black and former Chair Laura Russo were the only ECC members present at the Aug. 20 meeting, leading the conversation. Russo presented information about GreenUp, a New York City-based bottle and can pick-up service.
Recycling has been a prevalent discussion topic in the village over the last three months. The recycling process itself, as well as educating residents have been focuses for the Board of Trustees, leading to the decision to have the ECC explore methods of public outreach.
Black invited input from residents, asking how information can best be relayed to the community.
“We need to have a better idea of what’s recyclable, what isn’t,” he said. “How do we get that word out to the community?”
The ECC is composed of six residents appointed to the commission by the Board of Trustees. Ex officio members include the mayor, trustees, the building inspector and the chairs of the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and the Architectural Review Board. Created in 1979, the ECC’s mission is to advise the village on matters of environmental protection and sustainability.
Resident Dan Herman, who has been engaged in the recycling discussion since June, suggested having information published in the Sea Cliff Circle, a biweekly newsletter that keeps residents up to date on happenings in the village.
“I think even just having something quick, easy, digestible in the Sea Cliff Circle,” he said, “that could also perhaps be reproduced, maybe in print somewhere, would be nice.”
Others, including Black and Russo, agreed that the newsletter could be the most effective method of communication. There were questions raised as to whether the Sea Cliff Circle was a municipal publication. Volunteers created it to keep residents informed about events and to promote community engagement, according to newsletter itself.
Submission guidelines include that content must be event-based rather than promoting businesses or sales. In the last several issues, the village has included information and diagrams about the recycling process.
At the ECC’s last July meeting, Village Administrator Bruce Kennedy presented information on the village’s recycling process he compiled after a conversation with representatives from Waste Management, the company that handles Sea Cliff’s garbage and recycling. In his presentation, he said the most effective way to recycle bottles and cans was to visit a redemption center or deposit machine that accepts those items in exchange for coins.
Russo raised concerns at the Aug. 20 meeting that machines at stores like Stop & Shop may reject items that the store does not sell. She said she spoke with the owner of GreenUp about the company’s operations. GreenUp, founded in 2019 to prevent bottles and cans from ending up in landfills, will pick up loads of 200 or more bottles, cans or a combination.
“He’ll come to your location, pick them up,” Russo explained, “and either do direct deposit or give you cash in hand.” The company calculates how much money the load translates to and provides the money immediately before returning the items to the state and getting the refund.
Sue Giordano, a member of the Sea Cliff Beautification Committee and the Tree Commission, asked about a place for bottles and cans to be dropped off, adding that it may be difficult for residents to collect 200 items at home. Russo and Black clarified that working with GreenUp is just an idea at this point and has not yet been taken to the Board of Trustees.
Russo said she met with Matt Garry, owner of Matt’s Deli on Sea Cliff Avenue, about keeping a bin in the deli for people to dispose of bottles and cans. Garry would then have GreenUp collect the items. Russo added that she planned to meet with The Rev. Jesse Lebus at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church to discuss a similar process there. The money would go to whichever entity gave the items to GreenUp.
“It’s more than the cash,” Russo said. “It’s a nice place for bottles and cans to end up.”
Black raised one concern with introducing GreenUp. “I think it’s going to confuse the recycling issue, frankly,” he said. He acknowledged that people have doubts about the village’s recycling process. Others immediately expressed those doubts.
Russo also mentioned getting the schools involved, having bins placed there. GreenUp would then collect bottles and cans from the schools, and the schools would get the money. Russo acknowledged that this would require approval and buy-in from North Shore School District.
Herman asked Russo if working with GreenUp would be an official ECC initiative. Russo said it could be, but no final decision was made.
Russo maintained that recycling bottles and cans through a redemption method rather than placing them in single-stream recycling would be most effective. Single-stream, which is how Sea Cliff collects recycling, allows residents to place all recyclables in the same curbside bin.
“I think that if stuff is better separated,” Russo said, “like if I bring it to Stop & Shop or (GreenUp) picks it up, I would be much more confident that it would actually get recycled.”
Giordano suggested taking a booth at Mini Mart, Sea Cliff’s annual October street fair, to provide residents with information on recycling and potentially GreenUp.
“It’s a difficult thing to introduce,” she said. “There’s got to be probably a lot of education on it first.” Russo responded positively to the idea.
Sea Cliff’s Board of Trustees meets Sept. 8 for its public conference meeting and Sept. 14 for its public meeting including a public comment period.
