In an effort to make the Village of Briarcliff Manor a more “earth-friendly” place to live, the Briarcliff Sustainability Advisory Committee will be launching a food scraps dropoff program at the end of this month and passing out free food scrap recycling starter kits at the village’s Community Day on Sept. 19 (rain date: Sept. 26).
“We will be giving away free starter kits to the first 100 village residents,” says committee chairperson Padma Sridhar. “Each starter kit consists of a two-gallon bin for the countertop and a seven-gallon pail, fitted with an animal resistant lock, for the garage [compostable bags not included].” After the first 100 are distributed, the kits will be available at cost for $25 through the village.
Sindhar notes that bins can be used to collect all types of food scraps, including fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy, bread, rice, pasta, raw and cooked food, as well as cut flowers, napkins, paper towels, and wax paper. Bones and shells are permitted for this community composting program. Items not allowed include plastic bags, packaging, and wrappers; baby/hand wipes and pet waste.
Food scraps should be brought to the drop-off facility at the Department of Public Works at 10 Buckhout Road (open dawn to dusk every day). “From there it will be trucked to a compost facility in Cortlandt Manor and turned into soil,” Sridhar says.
While the Food Scraps Program is brand new, the Briarcliff Sustainability Advisory Committee was founded in 2017 as a grassroots organization initially focused on eliminating single-use plastic bags. According to Sindhar, the group gained momentum and grew through community events such as cleanups, movie screenings, and swap events (e.g. Halloween costumes and sports gear). In 2022, Briarcliff Manor officially recognized the group as an advisory committee.
“The committee’s mission centers on promoting the ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle’ approach to waste management, along with public education on clean energy, recycling best practices, and water conservation,” says Sridhar. The committee of nine members communicates regularly with village officials, including Village Manager Josh Ringel, and reports annually to the Board of Trustees. Deputy Mayor Peter Chatzky has been a supporter and serves as the official liaison to the Board of Trustees.
Sindhar says discussions about a local food scrap recycling program began over six years ago, inspired by a successful program in the neighboring Town of Ossining, which operates a residential food scrap recycling dropoff at Cedar Lane Park.
“Because the majority of Briarcliff Manor falls within the Town of Ossining, it was initially assumed that residents would use Ossining’s facility, which opened in 2020,” says Sridhar. “However, over time, community members repeatedly expressed frustration at the inconvenience of traveling to the Ossining facility, and some ended up throwing their food in the trash or resorted to private pickup services that require payment.” Based on community demand, the committee decided to formally request a local drop-off facility from the Briarcliff Board of Trustees, which was approved and is now ready to launch.
“While we were Influenced by the food scrap recycling program in the surrounding towns of Ossining, Pleasantville, Chappaqua and Croton-on-Hudson, Scarsdale is truly to be credited as the pioneer of food scrap programs in Westchester County. They have provided templates, spreadsheets, vendor lists, and signage designs that have been adopted by Briarcliff and many other towns,” says Sridhar.
Explaining the costs, Ringel says, “The village applied for and received the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Municipal Food Scraps Recycling Initiatives grant. The state grant was for $35,549, with the village responsible for a minimum 25 percent match that totaled $11,850.” In order to manage costs, Ringel noted that the village purchased surplus, unsold starter kits from Bronxville and Pleasantville at a reduced cost. “We were able to avoid inflated vendor prices — many of which originate from Canadian suppliers whose prices have risen significantly,” he notes.
The Briarcliff Sustainability Advisory Committee will pass out information on the new food scraps drop-off program at their booth at the Pleasantville Farmers Market on Oct. 3. More information is also available by contacting: sac@briarcliffmanor.gov or the DPW at 914-941-9105.
