mrfApril 21, 2016 - Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced today that just in time for Earth Day, residents of Westchester County’s Refuse Disposal District (RDD) will be able to include beverage cartons when they put their recyclables out to the curb for collection.

The Daniel P. Thomas Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Yonkers, processes residential recyclables for the municipalities that are located within the RDD, approximately 90% of the county’s population. The MRF is operated by City Carting of Westchester. Last year, when the county and City Carting executed a 5-year contract extension, Astorino negotiated for City Carting to pay for the purchase and installation of screening equipment to enhance the facility’s cardboard and paper recycling capabilities. The new equipment requires less hand-sorting of paper recyclables, which allowed for the redeployment of personnel to hand-sort beverage containers.

Beginning on April 25, 2016, district residents will be able to include the cartons with their commingled recyclables (glass, plastic and metal recyclables) for collection by their refuse hauler. Recyclable cartons consist predominantly of cardboard and include waxy cartons used for juice and milk (sometimes called gable-top containers); soup and broth; cream; and egg substitutes. Although mostly made of cardboard, the cartons should be included with other recyclable beverage containers made of glass, plastic and metal for collection; they should not be included with paper and cardboard recyclables.

“As greater awareness of beverage carton recycling spreads among residents, Westchester can expect to see an increase in the county-wide recycling rate,” said Astorino. “Robust recycling markets displace demand for new materials when new products are manufactured. The MRF equipment upgrade is the latest effort by the county to divert more materials from the trash, conserving resources while protecting the environment.”