Volume III | Issue III
New Rules for Plastics Recycling
Earlier this summer, Tompkins County Recycling and Materials Management (RMM) announced that only plastics #1, 2, and 5 would be accepted for single stream recycling. This comes as part of an effort to reduce contamination and adapt to changes in recycling markets. You should only recycle a plastic item if it is marked with one of these three numbers inside the triangular recycling mobius symbol. Furthermore, recyclables must be rinsed and free of food residue.
 
Similarly, there have been changes for recycling large rigid plastics and plastic bags and films. These materials must be dropped off at the Electronics Plus area of the Recycling and Solid Waste Center, and should not go in your curbside bin. The acceptable materials for these drop-off areas are limited to the items listed here:
Accepted Large Rigid Plastics:
  • Plastic Baskets
  • Plastic Buckets (Clean)
  • Plastic Garbage Cans or Recycling Carts (Wheels and axles removed)
  • Coroplast Campaign Election Signs (Metal removed)
  • Plastic Crates
  • Plastic Drums & Totes (Cut in half)
  • Plastic Lawn Furniture
  • Plastic Pet Carriers (Metal removed)
  • Plastic Shelving
  • Plastic Bottles from Water Coolers
Accepted Plastic Bags and Films:
  • Plastic grocery bags (Clean and dry)
  • Plastic retail bags (Clean, dry, and string ties removed)
  • Plastic newspaper bags
  • Plastic dry-cleaning bags
  • Plastic wrap from paper products (Paper towels, toilet paper, etc)
  • Plastic wrap from beverage products (Water bottles, sports drinks, etc)
  • Flexible 6-pack rings
  • Plastic pallet wrap
  • Plastic air pillows found inside shipping packages (Air removed)
Need Some Help Recycling Right?
TCRMM staff are available to give brief presentations about new recycling guidelines to community organizations and other groups of residents.

Visit recycletompkins.org and contact us today.
Don't Miss Your Recycling Day Again!
Remembering which night to put out the recycling can be a challenge, especially when holidays result in an altered pickup schedule. Fortunately, recycletompkins.org now features a “Find My
Recycling Day” tool . Just enter your address to display a customized calendar with all of your upcoming recycling dates. Residents can take this one step further by signing up for automatic text, email, or call reminders; printing the calendar; or by embedding the schedule in their own calendar app such as iCal or Google Calendar. It even
automatically adjusts for holidays!
 
ReBusiness Spotlight: The Watershed Serves Up Sustainability
Nestled just off the beaten path on the West side of the
historic State Theatre of Ithaca, The Watershed is a bar and
gathering space serving Ithacans and visitors seven days a week. Aside from serving cocktails and appetizers, the
Watershed recognizes the escalating dangers of climate change and aims to lessen the bar’s impact on the environment by
reducing waste and recycling as much as possible.

Recently, the Watershed worked with the ReBusiness Partners team to conduct a waste assessment and develop strategies for further waste reduction. The team calculated that The Watershed is diverting approximately 98% of its waste! They’re able to accomplish this by offering reusable serviceware such as cloth napkins; refusing to offer single-use straws; bringing additional recyclables to the RSWC; and even recycling their wine corks by mail.

Join the hundreds of other businesses in Tompkins County that have taken part in the ReBusiness Partners program. Is your business interested in reducing waste? Contact us today at recycletompkins.org.
 
 
Food Scrap Tip Floor in Progress
Construction of a new food scraps transfer
building began in July at the Recycling and Solid Waste Center in Ithaca. The pre-fabricated building will be ready to accept food scraps from commercial sources starting in early 2019, and will allow for the more efficient transfer of food scraps to Cayuga Compost in Trumansburg. The work is being completed by Elmira Structures, Inc, and is funded in part by a New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation
Climate Smart Communities Grant.
 
Pictured: Workers construct the metal frame of the food scraps transfer building at the Recycling and Solid Waste Center in late September.
Holiday Closings
 

Oct. 8th, Indigenous Peoples’/
Columbus Day:
RMM Office closed, RSWC open, no change to curbside recycling.

Nov. 11th, Veterans Day:
RMM Office closed, RSWC open, no change to curbside recycling.
 
Thanksgiving Week:
RMM Office closed Thursday 11/22 and Friday 11/23. Recycling and Solid Waste Center closed Thursday 11/22. No curbside pickup on Thursday 11/22, and one-day delay for remainder of holiday week.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events

October 20th

November 17th

A valid solid waste permit and an appointment are required to attend.
Upcoming Outreach Events

Join our outreach team at the following events in Tompkins County:

Downtown Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival
September 29th

Brooktondale Apple Fest
October 20th


Let's shoot some hoops!
A Public Space Recycling bin was added to the Greater Ithaca Activity Center (GIAC) basketball courts this Summer.


Did You Know...


Plastic utensils can’t be recycled because they’re too small to be sorted, tend to have food contamination, and aren’t always #1, 2, or 5 plastic. Next time, grab a reusable utensil!
Tompkins County Recycling and Materials Management
(607) 273-6632 | reducewaste@tompkins-co.org | recycletompkins.org