By Bronxville Green Committee 

June 2, 2021: On Saturday, June 5th, 10AM-1PM, in-person TAKE BACK DAY returns to Bronxville. 

Here’s your chance to empty your donation bin and make a positive environmental impact!

Bronxville’s trash is shipped thirty miles north to a facility in Peekskill, where it is burned. The toxic ash that results is sent to landfills. By reducing, reusing, and recycling; by composting; and by participating in TAKE BACK DAY, we can greatly reduce our household waste streams and take important steps to ensure the health of our local environment. Thank you for your help in this effort!

Two Drop-Off Sites This Year:

Elementary School Parking Lot, for drop-off of paper to be shredded. Line up along Midland Avenue, going south as you would for school drop-off and pick-up.

Up to four file-sized (10”x12”x15”) boxes of personal confidential papers per household. The county requests that you remove all large binder clips and covers. Junk mail and newspapers belong in your recycling bin at home.  Keep in mind that once the county’s mobile shredder is full, it won’t be able to accept more items, so plan to arrive early.

Palumbo Place, entering from Gramatan Avenue, for drop off of the following:

-Electronics for safe dismantling and recycling by Westchester County, including desktops, laptops, and tablets; TVs; FAX machines, VCRs, printers, and related cords. By New York State law, all electronics must be kept out of the regular waste stream.

-Cell phones: Bronxville High School student initiative iTRAID collects used cell phones for repurposing.

-Gently used clothes, bed linens, and shoes: Collected by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Family Services of Westchester; proceeds support youth mentoring programs.

-Plastic tube coat hangers: Collected by GradBag, which will distribute them to college students in need of dorm room supplies.

-Gently used towels and blankets (no sheets), to be distributed to local animal shelters.

Please show your respect to the staff of Bronxville’s Department of Public Works by NOT bringing items that are not accepted on Take Back Day.

Safety Protocols: Please wear masks and, as much as possible, allow volunteers to unload items for you.  Place closed boxes and tied bags in trunks or hatchbacks, or on back seats.

We Do NOT Accept Other Items, Including

-Paint—instead, let cans air dry or fill with kitty litter until all liquid is absorbed. Place solid and empty cans next to your regular garbage with the lids off.

-All batteries—Non-rechargeable alkaline and carbon zinc and rechargeable alkaline batteries can be disposed of in regular garbage. Other kinds of rechargeable and button cell silver oxide batteries must be recycled at the Valhalla H-MRF.

Bring these items to Household Materials Recovery Facility (H-MRF) in Valhalla:

-Florescent light bulbs

-Air conditioners

-Solvents, cleaning solutions, and other hazardous waste

-Appliances with electronic components—that means pretty much ALL appliances must be treated as hazardous waste and brought to the H-MRF in Valhalla.  On Take Back Day, we will accept only the electronic items listed above.

The H-MRF is located at 15 Woods Road, Valhalla. You must make an appointment in advance online or by calling the Recycling Helpline at 914-813-5425.

Additional ways to reduce what you throw away: 

-Carry reusable bags when shopping. Instead of switching from plastic bags, now banned, to paper bags, which are also not environmentally friendly, we encourage you to bring reusable bags to the grocery store and carry a small tote for other purchases.  Lightweight, washable mesh bags are great for produce. 

-Recycle “thin” plastic bags by placing them in bins at grocery stores.  Single-use plastic bags, dry cleaning bags, bread bags, shrink wrap, packing “pillows,” and newspaper sleeves can all be recycled there.

-Sign up for Food Scrap Recycling, coming to Bronxville Fall 2021! This residential composting program provides residents with a kit and a drop-off stie to make it easy to recycle food scraps -- an important step in returning vital nutrients to the earth instead of to an incinerator. Learn more on our website.

When you’re not sure if something can be recycled, and for further details on proper disposal, these sources can help: 

-Bronxville Village website sanitation / recycling / yard waste section

-zerowastewestchester.org, a source of detailed information provided by the nonprofit Sustainable Westchester.

-New York State’s Recycle Right Campaign

-Westchester County’s site and Recycling Hotline number is 914-813-5425.

The Bronxville Green Committee, which is part of our local government, is a volunteer organization working to propose and implement environmentally sustainable programs in our community. We believe every resident and family can make a positive impact and we hope to be a helpful resource in the process. Please visit our new website to learn more about our programs and sustainable living, and to get involved!

Photos courtesy Bronxville Green Committee

Editor's note: As a public service, MyhometownBronxville publishes articles from local institutions, officeholders, and individuals. MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements therein, and any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff.