Yorktown Recycling Contest Seeks Logo Concepts
Yorktown officials have launched a logo contest to decorate new food-scrap recycling bins that will be placed at Downing Park.
The food-scrap recycling logos should be inspired by environmentalism, waste reduction and composting. Proposed designs must be submitted digitally at supervisor@yorktownny.org and the submission deadline is May 15. The contest winner will have their design turned into a logo for the recycling bins.
“The Environmental Protection Agency estimated that in 2018, about 68 percent of the wasted food our country generated—42.8 million tons—ended up in landfills or combustion facilities,” said Supervisor Matt Slater. “This food-scrap recycling program has been successful in other communities, and I am confident Yorktown will embrace this new opportunity which will eliminate thousands of pounds from our waste stream and improve the environment by eliminating another source of methane.”
The food-scrap drop-off bins will be placed in the lower parking lot at Downing Park. Residents will be able empty their food scraps at the drop-off bins and a Westchester County contractor will collect the scraps weekly for composting.
Yorktown’s food-scraps recycling is a partnership with the Teatown Lake Reservation and Westchester County.
“Education is an essential component of our mission, and our goal is to promote positive attitudes toward conservation and recycling,” said Kevin Carter, Teatown’s executive director. “This food-scraps recycling program gives residents who don’t have the space for at-home composting the opportunity to participate in a waste-stream reduction effort.”
The composting bins accept bread, dairy, tea bags, eggshells, coffee grounds and filters, meat, pasta, fruit, bones, and vegetables. If trash bags are used, they must be compostable.
Yorktown is the latest Westchester community to join the food-scraps recycling program. According to Westchester County’s Food Waste Study, 22 percent of Westchester’s residential waste stream is comprised of food scraps, while food waste comprises 21 percent of the commercial waste stream.
Currently, only 22,000 tons of commercial food waste are recycled annually in Westchester County, mostly at supermarkets. It is difficult to estimate the amount of Westchester County’s residential food scraps being recycled since many residents compost in their backyards.
Contact: Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater, 914-962-5722 x201 or mslater@yorktownny.org
