We list here
some of the measures not included in the Towns SWMP, that have been
repeatedly proposed by taxpayers and citizens groups, and that have
been successfully implemented in other nearby towns, and should be
called for under New York States mandated hierarchy of reduce, reuse,
recycle as a guiding principal of municipal waste management:
a. A Dont Bag It Program. "Dont Bag It", or
"Just Mow It" programs eliminate trash because grass clippings are not
collected. Rather, they require homeowners to leave the grass
clippings on their lawns or, if they are collected, to compost them at
home. In neighboring Islip Town, four million dollars are saved each
year by this program; in Smithtown their program saves about $600,000.
Brookhaven Town has recently adopted such a program, on a voluntary
basis. The Town has announced plans to make the program mandatory
within a year. We applaud this effort, and strongly urge the Town
government to continue to support this program.
b. Home Composting. Home composting is an
acceptable way to get rid of kitchen sink wastes, leaves, weeds and
grass clippings. Monies are available in State grants to institute
composting programs but the Town has not organized them.
c. Pay-by-Weight Program. Pay-by-weight
programs clearly reduce the amount of trash put out for public
collection. Southold, Shelter Island and Southampton Towns all have
adopted pay-by-weight programs. Estimates by the Southampton Town
Supervisor suggest that pay-by-weight programs can reduce the amount
of garbage by about 40%. The Hamlet of Brookhaven has repeatedly asked
the Town to use its community to plan a pilot program of this type,
but the Town has refused.
d. Commercial Source Separation Program. The
Town has failed to initiate a Town-wide commercial recycling program
similar to the red can, curbside source separation program set up in
residential areas. Curiously, such a program would not only increase
recycling and be consistent with the State priorities, but it would
also implement a January 1, 1989, Town law (Chapter 46, Sec. 1-20),
which requires that all commercial, industrial, and institutional
establishments source separate their waste.
e. Encourage More Recycling. Currently, the
Town of Brookhaven is in the process of entering into an agreement
with ah outside contractor (Star Recycling, of Brooklyn, N.Y.) to
construct and operate a mixed-waste recycling facility at the Town
landfill site. Rather than abdicate its recycling responsibility in
favor of a commercial facility that profits from increased waste, the
Town should adopt an aggressive recycling program that involves its
citizens in the kind of activities listed above: A program that makes
more effective use of Brookhavens Materials Recycling Facility (MRF)
through source-separation by households, businesses, and institutions;
a program in which an involved citizenry is properly informed about
the costs of waste management informed that costs of the MRF, where
the source-separated recyclables go, are about $58/ton, while the cost
of incineration at Hempstead amounts to about $120/ton, and a
Dont-Bag-It program costs less than $10/ton. A waste-management
program that truly encourages recycling at the source would save the
Town money, reduce the amount of waste, and thereby reduce the need
for energy-intensive mixed-waste recycling facilities that mine our
garbage, at great cost, for stuff that shouldnt have been put there
in the first place.
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