Category Archives: Uncategorized

CCE Earth Day STREAM-A-THON

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Cancelled Earth Day activities have you feeling blue about being green? Cornell Cooperative Extension has the answer! CCE Dutchess County is partnering with CCEs across the Hudson Valley to bring you the Earth Day STREAM-A-THON! CCE educators and staff will be taking to social media to provide a day chock-full of short presentations pertaining to plastic recycling and reduction, energy efficiency, composting, and even a guided stream-side woods walk!

Take a break from your regular quarantine programming and join us live on our CCE Dutchess Facebook page (or on Zoom if you prefer!) throughout the day for some great information, resources, and all-around Earth Day fun! The schedule for the day and instructions on how to participate can be found on our website.

We would love to have you celebrate Earth Day with us in this new and exciting way! And if you would also like to help us promote the event on your social media you can just share our event on your page.

We hope everyone is staying safe and we look forward to celebrating Earth Day 2020 with you all!

Source: CCEDC Environment & Energy Team

Help Protect Your Garbage & Recycling Workers from COVID-19

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) have both issued guidance associated with the Coronavirus and waste management.

Do your best to help protect your local garbage and recycling workers who continue to serve as an essential function in our communities and collect our waste on a weekly basis.

Best Practices

  • Tightly tie all garbage bags shut and place in your garbage tote.
  • Postpone your spring cleaning to keep all of your garbage and recycling contained in their collection totes.

Recycle Right

  • Do not put disposable gloves, masks or tissues in your recycling bin. Dispose of them properly in the trash.
  • Do not recycle medical sharps or syringes. Medical sharps or syringes should be put in a rigid plastic container, clearly labeled “sharps”, sealed tightly and placed in your garbage.
  • Do not bag your recycling. Place your recyclables loose in your curbside recycling tote.

Collection Tote Maintenance

  • Keep lid on your garbage and recycling totes to avoid littering
  • Wipe down your collection totes, especially the handles and lids, once you put them at the curb.
  • If needed, rinse containers. Make sure all containers are empty and dry.

Show your appreciation for your local garbage and recycling workers by leaving a thank you note.

Keep Your Reusable Bag Clean

New York State’s ban on single-use plastic bags went into effect on March 1st, 2020. Reusable bags help us reduce waste and protect our environment. Are you trying out reusable bags but looking for best practices and information on cleaning them? Information is available from the New York State Department of Health.

COVID-19 and Beverage Container Redemption

Recycling operations, including redemption of containers through the bottle bill are considered essential services. However, redemption centers should implement appropriate social distancing practices whenever and wherever possible.

DEC recognizes that unintended consequences of the COVID-19 response may make full compliance with requirements challenging for certain facilities and result in temporary disruptions to required redemption operations.

For more information on COVID-19 and Bottle Bill Beverage Container Redemption.

Composting in the Time of COVID-19

Tune into the United States Composting Council’s webinar series, Composting in the Time of COVID-19, especially if you are a municipal/commercial composter or food scraps hauler.

Show your appreciation and leave a thank you note for your local food scraps hauler.

US Composting Council – Mentoring Program Now Open

The United State’s Composting Council’s mentoring program is now open for applications – mentees and mentors! Tune into the April 17th webinar to hear from past mentors and mentees as well as the mentoring coordinator to answer your questions.

The mentoring program helps young professionals between the ages of 21 and 40 with professional development as they grow their careers, personal capabilities and businesses in the composting industry. Mentors must be a USCC member, however mentees do not have to be members of USCC, but are encouraged to join throughout the year of mentorship. Applications are due by April 30, 2020. 

Wasted Food Warrior Tip of the Week

Got brown bananas? Turn those soft bruised bananas into delicious banana bread or ice cream. Store them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Compost Bin & Rain Barrel Sales

Conference, Workshops & Webinars:

Funding 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.

 

Household Hazardous Waste & Electronics Event

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The March 28 event is now cancelled.

The next two events will be June 20th and September 19th. Registration for the June 20th event will open May 20th.

  • Registration and pre-payment for this HHW event is mandatory.
  • We must receive your $10.00 registration fee no later than the Wednesday prior to Saturday’s event.
  • No monies will be accepted at the collection site.
  • Please be prepared for wait times!
  • Registration limited to the first 360 households
  • Open to Dutchess County Residents Only

  • Download the March 28 event flyer (.pdf)

Events are held at: 

Dutchess County Department of Public Works
626 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie, NY
(access off of Route 44 to Burnett Boulevard)

Contact

Continue reading →

Help Us Prepare for New York State Compost Awareness Week

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As we prepare to celebrate New York State Compost Awareness Week in conjunction with International Compost Awareness Week, May 3 – 9, 2020, we’re interested in hearing from you!

Email organicrecycling@dec.ny.gov with any compost related events (composting workshops, volunteer opportunities, etc.) happening in your community throughout April and May.

Leading up to Compost Awareness Week, we will be sharing these events, social media and resources relaying the importance of compost to soil health.

9th Annual Riverkeeper Sweep

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WHEN:
May 2, 2020 (Postponed. Contact sweep@riverkeeper.org for further info)
WHERE IN DUTCHESS COUNTY:
Beacon: Denning’s Point Cleanup
Beacon: Riverfront Park Cleanup
Poughkeepsie: Waryas Park Shoreline Cleanup
Poughkeepsie: Kaal Rock Park Cleanup
Staatsburg: Mills Historic Site Cleanup
Tivoli: Cleanup of the Hudson River at Tivoli Landing
Wappingers Falls: Lower Wappinger Creek Cleanup by Kayak/Canoe and Land

Join us for the 9th annual Riverkeeper Sweep, our annual day of service for the Hudson River and its tributaries! Over the last 8 years, we have had 737 projects along hundreds of miles of shoreline from Brooklyn to the Adirondacks. More than 14,000 volunteers have removed 259 tons of debris, planted 2,372  trees and native grasses, and removed tons of invasive species.

Sweep 2020Riverkeeper organiza todos los años una jornada dedicada a la limpieza del río Hudson y sus tributarios. Riverkeeper Sweep se realizará el 2 de mayo. Leér mas en La Voz: A cuidar nuestro río.

A full list of 2020 Sweep sites will be posted here on April 1, 2020. To get a sense of where sites have been in the past, check out the list from 2019.

Ways to get involved:
Organize a project: Is there a park or shoreline in your community in need of a cleanup? Submit the Sweep Leader Interest Form and we will reach out with more information about organizing your own project for Saturday, May 2.

Volunteer: Interested in pitching in? Submit the Volunteer Interest Form to receive updates about volunteering on Sweep day.

Sponsor Sweep: Do you own a business interested in helping restore the Hudson River? Email Elizabeth Allee at eallee@riverkeeper.org for more information about sponsoring the 2020 Riverkeeper Sweep.

It takes hundreds of local volunteers to make Sweep happen in their communities. If there is a local park or stretch of shoreline not listed, e-mail sweep@riverkeeper.org to learn about how you can organize a project. Click here to visit our page with resources for Sweep leaders, which will be updated in the coming months. 

Annual CAC-EMC Roundtable

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On Tuesday CCEDC’s Environment and Energy Program hosted its’ Annual CAC-EMC Roundtable. The event began with a presentation from Resource Educator, Michelle Gluck, on the Dutchess S.U.P.P.P. Campaign. Michelle spoke to the issue of single-use plastics (SUPs) and discussed how Conservation Advisory Committees (CACs) can be involved to make for an even stronger and successful impact to reduce single-use plastic usage throughout Dutchess County! Dutchess County Recycling Educator, Kerry Russell, was available to answer questions as well.This presentation was very timely as the NYS Bag Waste Reduction Law goes into effect on 3/1/2020. The Roundtable was hosted as a “zero-waste “event with attendees asked to BYO mug. Some attendees went above and beyond and brought their own plate too! Continue reading →

Solid Waste and Recycling Newsletter

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Plastic Bag Ban Coming Soon

Bag Bag

Did you know that New Yorkers use more than 23 billion plastic bags a year? That’s around 1,000 bags per person annually. When we dispose them improperly, plastic bags pose threats to fish and wildlife, clog machinery at recycling facilities, and litter the pristine outdoor places we love and enjoy spending time in with our friends and family.

Starting March 1, 2020, a new plastic bag waste reduction law will take effect in New York State, and your reusable bag should be in hand when going shopping. Whether you’re going to the grocery store, clothes shopping, or to a home improvement store, make sure to bring your reusable bags. You don’t need to wait for March 1st to take action! Start bringing your reusable bags to the store ahead of the ban to build a new habit. Remember, your reusable bag means conserving natural resources, creating less litter, and keeping New York beautiful for future generations.

Additionally, stores covered under the NYS Plastic Bag Reduction, Reuse and Recycling Act will still be required to collect plastic bags and other film plastics from consumers for recycling. Film plastics include items such as bread bags and plastic wraps that come over cases of water, paper towels and other similar items). As a consumer, you can help by continuing to recycle these items at participating retailers.

Questions on the upcoming plastic bag ban? E-mail DEC at: plasticbags@dec.ny.gov.

Montgomery Place Fall 2019 Salon Series

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o   Session 1: Solar Energy
November 12, 3–5 p.m., Montgomery Place, Annandale-on-Hudson
Emily Majer ’95, Town of Red Hook historian and deputy mayor, Village of Tivoli
Audrey Friedrichsen, land use and environmental advocacy attorney, Scenic Hudson
Jeff Irish, vice president, SunCommon
Moderated by Ben Hoen CEP ’06, research scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

o   Session 2: Hydro Energy
December 3, 3–5 p.m., Montgomery Place, Annandale-on-Hudson
Emily Majer ’95, Town of Red Hook historian and deputy mayor, Village of Tivoli
Jan Borchert, head of hydro facility design and permitting, Current Hydro
Tracy Brown, restoration manager, Connecticut and New York Northeast Coldwater Habitat Program, Trout Unlimited
Weston Davey, historic site restoration coordinator, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
Moderated by Robyn Smyth, assistant professor of environmental and urban studies, Bard College

Source Collin Adkins

Upcoming CCDC Events

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  1. First of all, save the date for our annual CAC-EMC Roundtable! The 2020 Roundtable will be held on Tuesday, February 25th from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Farm & Home Center (2715 Route 44, Millbrook, NY). The snow date for the event will be Thursday, February 27th, at the same time and location. This event is our annual forum aimed at bringing together all of the CACs/CBs in Dutchess County, the County’s Environmental Management Council and others to discuss common successes, challenges, and goals for the future. This year will also feature a presentation on Dutchess County’s single-use plastic prevention campaign as well as continued discussion on the Climate Smart Communities Program and CCEDC’s support. More details to come. We hope to see you all there!

 

  1. Secondly, the Wappinger Creek Watershed Intermunicipal Council will be holding its Fall Quarterly Meeting (last of the year) on Friday, November 15th from 9:00-10:30 AM at the Farm & Home Center. This meeting will focus on the final steps of the Wappinger Creek Nine-Element Watershed Management Plan, including presentations from two of our watershed municipalities, the Town of Pine Plains and Town of Wappinger, as well as a presentation on the nearly-finalized Watershed Characterization and Recommendations Report by KC Engineering. We welcome any municipalities within the Wappinger Creek Watershed or Dutchess County as a whole to attend and share your questions, comments and/or concerns pertaining to local water quality and watershed management.

 Source: Sean Carroll