R-E-C-Y-C-L-E - It Just Got Easier For Smithtown Residents

Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio and Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine

By p.biancaniello

Town Supervisors Patrick Vecchio and Edward Romaine met at Smithtown Town Hall on Monday to sign an agreement about recyclables.  The agreement is an apparent win-win for both towns. 

Smithtown residents will benefit in several ways.  Beginning January 1, 2015 residents will no longer have to separate their paper goods from cans and glass. Smithtown is moving to a single stream system. Pick-ups will still occur on a weekly basis but all recyclables can be combined in a single container.  Brookhaven’s facility collects almost all types of recyclables, whereas Smithtown’s collection was limited to #1 and #2 plastics and limited paper goods.  Statistics show that more people recycle with a streamlined process and the amount of material recycled increases when there is a combined collection. 

According to Supervisor Vecchio, shipping recyclables to Brookhaven is more cost effective and better for the environment.  The town’s recycling equipment is old and in need of an update. The cost of replacing the equipment would run into the millions of dollars. The agreement with Brookhaven negates the need for replacing the worn out equipment.

The single stream recycling agreement with Brookhaven is expected to save taxpayers more than $600,000 annually. It is a five-year commitment.

Brookhaven will be paying Smithtown $15 a ton for the recyclables which is expected to generate revenue of approximately $180,000 annually.  This is lower than the $900,000 currently being generated, however the savings in electricity, maintanence, personnel costs, disposal costs etc. is expected to  result in savings of $600,000 annually. 

When single stream recycling begins in January residents will continue to place their recyclables at curbside on Wednesdays.  There is no limit to the number of containers a resident puts out for collection but the containers must not exceed 32 gallons in capacity and 50 pounds in weight. Trucks will bring the materials to the MSF yard where it will be unloaded and reloaded onto municipal vehicles and driven to the Brookhaven facility.  

Employees who are currently working in Smithtown’s recycling division will be reassigned.  There will be no layoffs. Recycling Facts

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