When my family moved to Sleepy Hollow in 2013, the previous owner of our house thoughtfully left the Westchester County guidelines for recycling posted in our kitchen. I saw that residents of the County were asked to recycle plastics #1 through #7, and I have been putting all numbered plastics in my recycling bin for the last three years.
From the Village website I recently learned that Sleepy Hollow recycles only #1 and #2 plastics. I also found out that, as of June 1, 2011, the County mandated the addition of recycling of plastics #3 through #7 to the original standard of recycling #1 and #2.I don’t know if a village is allowed to contravene a county mandate. Either way, this is a failure to take responsibility for mitigation of the damage done to the environment by plastics we consume.
Each year, eight percent of global petroleum production goes into making plastics, which means they contribute heavily to carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. As individuals we, understandably, often feel helpless to combat global warming, but one thing we can do in our communities that may make a difference is to recycle plastics and so reduce the amount of plastic that has to be manufactured. But since our local government doesn’t actually send some of the plastic we put in our bins to a recycling plant, an opportunity is being missed.
Gay Daly
Resident of Sleepy Hollow
