The Town of Huntington is continuing with single-stream recycling until the end of the year, relying on Omni Westbury for the next few weeks.
Huntington, along with other towns, lost access to single-stream recycling when Brookhaven shut down operations Oct.29 after Green Stream Recycling announced it would stop operating the facility.
The Town of Huntington said this week that has put out a request for proposals for a return to dual-stream recycling, meaning residents will have to separate plastics and paper recyclable material.
“Reverting back to dual stream will involve a public education campaign on proper recycling habits to ensure a better curbside product,” spokeswoman Lauren Lembo said.
“In the meantime, sticking to the proper recycling tips that are in the trash and recycling calendar can help keep “contaminants” out of what is placed curbside, improving the marketability of our curbside product, thereby reducing the cost to recycle.”
Mixed recycling products began losing their value earlier this year when China cracked down on imported materials.
Here are a few important reminders from the town:
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- If we can keep paper dry and clean (and separate from plastics that may have liquids in/on them), that helps keep recycling costs down and improves its marketability, as soiled paper is not recyclable (soiled pizza boxes and any paper that has food on it is not recyclable) and mildew grows on wet paper, rendering it unrecyclable.
- Plastic bags are not recyclable, which is why the Town asks for recyclabes to be placed loose in the recycling container and not in trash bags.
- Glass creates a lot of wear on the machinery that processes the recyclables, and there is almost zero market for recycled glass, so if we can find ways to reuse glass and glass containers, that can help.
- When in doubt, throw it out (it is better to throw something you are unsure of in the trash than have it contaminate your recyclables).