Rye Mandates All Plastics To Be Recycled – Change Your Habits
Rye City (and all of Westchester) is keeping almost all plastics out of the waste stream. It used to be only "#1" and "#2" plastics could be recycled.
On June 1, 2011 plastic containers coded 3 through 7 were added to Westchester County’s list of mandated recyclables under the Westchester County Source Separation Law. Now, municipal and private haulers are required to accept and residents, businesses, schools and institutions are required to source separate plastics coded 1 through 7, in commingled recycling bins.
This includes most plastic personal care and food packaging waste, such as medicine and shampoo bottles, yogurt cups and take-out food containers.
The following plastic items are not recyclable in the Rye City program: plastic bags (i.e. grocery, dry cleaning, packing material), vinyl, Styrofoam (i.e. cups, trays, packing material), any unmarked or non-coded plastics (including large rigid plastics as in toys, pools, and furniture, as well as clothing hangers, tableware, utensils), building materials (i.e. piping, sinks and other fixtures), and empty plastic containers which held potentially hazardous material, regardless of the recycling code (i.e. motor oil, pesticides and solvents).
Note that plastic grocery and carryout bags, as well as other plastic bags (including dry cleaning bags) may be dropped off at any of several large grocery and retail stores for recycling including CVS and Food Emporium.
