Archive: Around Town

The Tompkins County Solid Waste Division – in partnership with Cornell University and the Town of Ithaca – is pleased to announce the opening of a new food scraps recycling drop spot on East Hill.

The new drop spot -- located on Pine Tree Road in the lot next to Rite-Aid – will be open every Saturday beginning February 20th from 11:00am to 2:00pm. The free service offers residents the opportunity to expand their recycling options while reducing their trash disposal costs.

The material collected each week will be taken to Cayuga Compost in Trumansburg, where it's processed into compost and marketed to homeowners, landscapers and farmers as a soil amendment.

In 2013, the County began offering free kitchen caddies, transport containers and compostable bin liners to encourage residents to participate. The opening of six Drop Spots – including those at the Recycling and Solid Waste Center and Cayuga Compost – has helped grow the program.  In 2015, the Drop Spots saw over 20,000 drops and collected over 400,000 pounds of material.

"We're very excited to open our seventh Drop Spot on East Hill," said Barbara Eckstrom, the County's Solid Waste Manager. "We know residents of the neighborhoods around Cornell University share in this excitement, and we expect this to be one of our busiest locations yet," she said.

Eckstrom added the food scraps recycling initiative is playing a significant role toward meeting the County's goal of 75% waste diversion. "Our plans for 2016 include opening four additional drop spots for food scraps and paper towels and napkins," she said, "as well as a new area at the Recycling and Solid Waste Center to get rid of fats, cooking oil and grease (F.O.G.)."

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