“Grow Gardens, Not Garbage”: A New Village Initiative to Recycle More and Waste Less

We’ve got some bad news, neighbors. The latest data from our county reports that Sleepy Hollow recycles 35% of our waste (and trashes the remaining 65%). Across all of Westchester, the average is closer to 50-50 – with 50% of waste being recycled instead of burned in our waste incinerator. Next door in Pleasantville, they’re recycling waste at a 70% rate! 

The good news? This is an easy problem to solve if we work together. Last year, Sleepy Hollow kicked off the village’s pilot food scrap recycling program. Food scraps make up the heaviest portion of our waste tossed in the garbage can, and take up 22% of residential waste in Westchester. When we recycle our food, it creates something new: nutrient-rich compost.

With this new initiative, we’re going to get deep into the topic of trash, because let’s face it: it’s a little too easy to throw stuff away without thinking about where it ends up and how it affects our planet and community. We’re calling it: Grow Gardens, Not Garbage. Because if we all chip in and recycle our food scraps, we’ll make a big difference. Even better: we’ll catch up to those composting rock stars in Pleasantville (kidding, kidding – we love you, Pleasantville).

Stay tuned for more info, and drop by Village Hall to pick up a home food scraps recycling bin today!

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