For several years, the Sea Cliff Board of Trustees has aimed for 30 percent of the village’s municipal solid waste, or all disposed garbage, to be recycled. So far, the village has not been able to exceed 18 percent. The board is considering new ways to encourage residents to recycle.
Dina Epstein and Laura Russo, co-chairs of Sea Cliff’s Environmental Conservation Commission, suggested that the board watch a presentation from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about its Comprehensive Recycling Analysis. The idea came at the board’s public meeting on Monday night.
The Comprehensive Recycling Analysis is designed to help municipalities develop and employ a stable and long-term recycling program.
Epstein, a former trustee, emphasized to the board that she and Russo were not proposing the analysis itself but an informational presentation on what it might entail should the board choose to go ahead with it.
“It’s possible that we are not implementing the correct strategies,” she said, “and (the DEC) can put us in the right direction.”
Mayor Elena Villafane said during the meeting that she is open to any information the DEC might have to offer.
“We have definitely gone down many traditional paths in trying to encourage our residents to recycle, not only for the physical benefits, but for the environmental benefits,” she said. “And if someone can come and tell us, ‘Hey, try this,’ I would be open to hearing that.”
Trustee Nick Pinto agreed after some initial uncertainty, saying that it would be worth having the presentation if the DEC can offer advice on encouraging residents to recycle instead of examining the village’s recycling infrastructure.
Sea Cliff uses a single-stream recycling system, meaning residents may place paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and metal cans in the same bin for Wednesday collection. If household waste or non-recyclable materials are mixed in, the recycling will not be collected. Further guidelines for recycling collection can be found on the village website.
The same truck that collects garbage on Mondays is used solely for picking up recycling on Wednesdays. Recycling from Sea Cliff is taken to the Winters Bros. Transfer Station in Glen Cove to be sorted.
Villafane said Tuesday that the village is “very committed environmentally.” Sea Cliff has banned plastic bags and, in September, became a New York State Bronze Certified Climate Smart Community.
The Environmental Conservation Commission exists under Article Eight of the village code to protect the environment and encourage sustainable practices. Its efforts to get more residents to recycle have included establishing bins around the village with pictograms explaining what is or is not recyclable, making announcements at summer concerts and placing articles in the Village Bulletin.
“We’re running out of room to put garbage,” Epstein said. “So, reducing garbage has really been one of the focuses of the Environmental Conservation Commission at the request of the Board of Trustees.”
Aside from the environmental impact, there is also a financial component for Sea Cliff. Recycling costs village slightly less per ton than garbage does. The more the village recycles, the lower the cost of its municipal solid waste will be.
At Monday’s meeting, the board discussed waiting until after the village election on March 18 and after next year’s budget is adopted for the DEC to present. The board did not officially decide if it would host the presentation.
“If we can figure out a way,” Villafane said on Monday, “short of going in their houses and doing it for them, to motivate our residents to engage in a more comprehensive effort to really reduce, reuse and recycle, I’m all for it.”
