press releases

Make Your Christmas Green This Year
12/11/07

While youre dreaming of a white Christmas remember that the holidays are also a perfect time to go green. During the five weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, the nations trash increases by an extra one million tons per week!   Here in Oneida and Herkimer Counties the opportunities abound for family celebrations to be safe, happy and not harmful to the environment.

Solid waste reduction and recycling is an important issue that we need to address everyday and not only during the holidays.   Our extensive public private recycling efforts in Oneida and Herkimer Counties are  
an integral part of this regions solid waste management system and have resulted in over 500,000 tons of material that has been processed, recycled and made into new materials.  

The Authoritys Recycling Center allows this region increased recycling opportunities.   For the seventeenth year, residents of Oneida and Herkimer Counties can once again recycle holiday gift wrap. To recycle gift wrap, set out the material in a large clear plastic bag or a container specified by your recycling hauler and place next to your other recyclables on your normal recycling day.   Do not put recyclable material in plastic grocery store bags.   Please do not recycle foil or metallic wrapping paper or metallic ribbon or tape.   Wrapping paper will only be accepted during the two weeks after Christmas.

Holiday cards may also be recycled.   Each   year, there are 2.65 billion holiday cards sold in the United States and that is enough to fill a football stadium field 10 stories high!   Place your holiday cards, catalogs, gift boxes and other recyclable paper in a large clear plastic bag or a container specified by your recycling hauler and placed next to your other recyclables on your normal recycling day.    

Christmas trees can also be recycled.   Contact your local municipality to see what the collection schedule is for Christmas trees.   Residents can also deliver trees during normal business hours Monday Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday from 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. to the Authoritys Leland Avenue Convenience Station in Utica until January 31st.   All Christmas wreaths should be disposed of with your regular garbage. Real and artificial wreaths are held together with wire and plastic, so they cannot be safely composted. To reduce waste use only reusable decorations on your holiday tree and avoid items such as tinsel, which is hard to remove and reuse again.   Tinsel causes a problem when we recycle the Christmas trees into compost and mulch.

New this year is the capability for the residents to recycle their cooking oil and kitchen grease.   Local residents are able to drop-off cooking oil and grease from deep fryers for recycling at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility (HHW) located on Leland Ave. in Utica.   The Authority has set up a collection tank for residents to place liquid cooking oil and grease for recycling.   This material will be collected and recycled into animal feed.

You are not really recycling until you buy recycled products.   Give gifts made from recycled-content materials.   Many polar fleece items and clothing are made from recycled plastic soda and water bottles.   Purchase wrapping paper, gift boxes, gift bags, stationery and Christmas cards made from recycled paper with the highest post-consumer content you can find.   With a little pre-cycling, waste reduction and properly recycling of the materials generated, we can all make our Christmas a little greener this year.

press releases