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What happens to everything we throw "away"?
Most of us never think about our waste after we bring it to the curb. The journey may surprise you.
Trash
Trash
Trash generated in Hastings does not go to a landfill, but is incinerated at WIN Waste Westchester, a waste-to-energy plant in Peekskill, NY (formerly Wheelabrator). ZWAT aims to keep as much material out of the incinerator as possible and send it on to better use.
Hastings DPW carts our trash and recycling first to the MRF (Material Recovery Facility) in Yonkers, located across the Thruway from Costco and Home Depot.
Trash is weighed and then the county carts it to the WIN Waste Westchester in Peekskill. Our Village is billed for trash based on weight. We are not charged for recycling, unless it is contaminated.
Incinerating our trash has enviromental consequences. It generates CO2 and other pollutants. Trucking the trash to the MRF and then to Peekskill creates emissions too. Both incineration and trucking impact air quality, especially for residents near the incinerator. Also, the incinerator uses the Hudson for cooling, returning excess heat to the river, impacting its ecosystem. Therefore, the less trash we produce, the better!
Learn your trash schedule and more on Hastings' DPW's homepage.
Recycling
Recycling
When our recycling is picked up, it is also carted to the MRF, sorted by optical scanners and subsequently by hand, baled and then sold. This photo shows just a tiny bit of what we send to be recycled. You can schedule a tour of recycling operations, if you're curious!
Plastic bags complicate processing and should never be included in your recycling.
Know what you can and cannot recycle. Review this list here.
Recyclables must be clean. If enough households do it incorrectly, our entire load could be considered contaminated, rejected, and sent to the incinerator.
Contamination is caused by inclusion of incorrect items and dirty items. Clean out those peanut butter jars and only recycle what's allowed!
Don't "wishcycle" and include something you're not sure about. When in doubt, throw it out.
Our biggest contamination is PLASTIC BAGS. Do not bag your recycling. It gets caught in the sorting machines.
Compost
Compost
Backyard composting is the most sustainable answer for non-edible food scraps. See this example guide to get started.
For items not suitable for backyard composting, such as meats, fats etc., or if you don't compost at home, you can drop scraps in Hastings' food scraps drop at the DPW yard, 67 Southside Avenue. These then go to Sustainable Materials Management in Cortlandt Manor, which processes them into compost.
Refer to the Village website for what is and what is not acceptable in the bins (NO plastic packaging or pet waste!!).
Pickup services such as Hudson Compost Services can be employed if you would rather not deliver scraps yourself. The county is working toward curbside pickup.
Learn about Sustainable Materials Management.
What about the rest?
What about the rest?
Textiles: see our Textile Recycling Page
Books: see our Book Recycling Page
Household hazardous materials: drop at Valhalla MRF
E-Waste: drop at Valhalla MRF. You can also schedule a curbside pickup for Electronics or Metal with Hastings DPW.
Batteries: drop rechargeable or lithium batteries at Valhalla MRF. You can review more info here: Household & Rechargeable Batteries. Regular (e.g. Duracell AAs) go in regular trash (believe it or not).
Lawn and Garden Waste - how to dispose of leaves, twigs and branches in Hastings
Medical Waste: Sharps (Needles, Syringes and Lancets) - how to handle safely for your family and our DPW employees; Prescription Medications - Westchester County guidelines.
Broken items: Don't throw it out - repair it! - at a Rivertowns Repair Café (see schedule).
Usable items for donation - see our Donating & Discarding page - and start with Hastings' own TILI Garage!
Tennis balls - use the Recycyle Balls container at the Hillside Tennis Courts. Recycling tennis balls helps keep millions of them out of landfills and promotes sustainability in sports
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