April 11, 2012 - Are partially used bottles of old household chemicals and cleaners accumulating at your house, along with old TV sets, computers and stereo equipment? Are there expired medicines in your bathroom? Is your garage overrun with old tires and propane tanks or maybe confidential papers to be shredded? Were you just too busy to make it to one of the county's household recycling events?

Help is on the way.   

On Thursday County Executive Robert P. Astorino officially opened the county's new state-of-the art Household Materials Recovery Facility (H-MRF), located on 15 Woods Road (on the Grasslands Reservation) in Valhalla. The opening of the facility, operated by the county Department of Environmental Facilities, is part of Astorino's "Earth Month" initiatives this April.

"Westchester County continues to be a national leader in recycling, with a 52 percent recycling rate for 2011, compared to the 35 percent national average reported by EPA," Astorino said. "Recycling and other activities designed to eliminate waste are not only good for the environment, but save us money. With this new facility, centrally located on the Grasslands Reservation, we are making disposal of hard-to-get-rid-of household items even more convenient."

This includes hazardous chemicals (pesticides, flammable liquids, pool chemicals), cleaning products, tires, re-chargeable batteries, refrigerant-containing items, appliances, electronic waste, propane tanks and expired medications. Prescription medicines can be brought on the first Tuesday of every month. Shredding services are available every day the H-MRF is open.

Astorino reminded residents that that they should continue to put out their ordinary recyclables (papers, bottles, aluminum cans, etc.) on the regular recycling days established by their local municipality or carter. Those recyclables are brought to the county's regular Material Recovery Center, or just plain "MRF" in Yonkers, where they are sorted and sold.

The H-MRF ( pronounced "H-MURF") will be open every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by appointment only. It is open to all county residents – although people in the seven municipalities that do not belong to the county's Refuse Disposal District (Bedford, Lewisboro, New Castle, North Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge and Somers) will be charged a per pound or per unit fee (for example, 75 cents per pound for chemicals; $5-10 for small or large appliances). The residents in the other communities pay refuse district property taxes that fund the construction and ongoing operation of the facility.

Visit wwww.westchestergov.com/h-mrf or call the Recycling HelpLine at (914) 813-5425 for more details about making an appointment, hours of operation and applicable fees.

The H-MRF is intended to replace the Household Material Recovery Days run by DEF.

These events have been very well attended, typically drawing on average more than 16,000 households. Last year the county collected over 17,000 gallons of liquid hazardous waste, 47 tons of solid hazardous wastes, 200 tons of electronics and 9,800 pounds of expired medicines.

The H-MRF cost $3 million to build; half of which will be reimbursed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, as part of an on going Household Hazardous Waste Grant Program that will also pay half of the annual disposal costs. The county expects to save money over the long term, because it costs less to operate a permanent facility than to host several collection events per year.

Much of the material that will be collected at the H-MRF gets recycled, including scrap tires, electronics, refrigerant-containing appliances, shredded paper and some of the chemicals. The leftover propane brought to the H-MRF from unwanted BBQ tanks will have a more immediate use; it will be used to heat the H-MRF.

Recyclables collected curbside by municipal and private carters – including newspapers, office paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and metal food and beverage containers – get sorted and baled at the Yonkers MRF. These materials are marketed and sold to recycling companies that use them in the manufacturing processes to produce new consumer goods. Last year the MRF processed over 76,000 tons of recyclable material, generating over $7.4 million in recycling revenue for the County. In addition, the county saves over $85 in transportation and disposal costs for each ton it recycles at the MRF.