45 million pounds of recyclables collected

Recently, supervisor Ed Romaine announced that the Town of Brookhaven’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) has received more than 45 million pounds of recycling material in 2022. It is projected that the town’s 2022 recycling collection should reach as high as 56 million pounds by the end of the year.

The Brookhaven Town MRF, which is operated by Winters Bros. Recycling of Long Island, is the largest curbside recycling processing center on Long Island. The facility was upgraded in 2020 and 2021 when Winters Bros. invested $7.5 million to enhance the facility including the design, construction and installation of a new processing line complete with optical sorting equipment and new mechanical sorting for plastic and metal containers.  Additional optical sorting equipment was added in 2021 to increase the recovery of polypropylene plastics, typically used for yogurt, cottage cheese and other dairy products.

“The success of our recycling effort is a direct result of the town’s extensive program to educate residents about the importance of recycling and its positive effect on the environment,” said Romaine. “I am proud of our efforts to increase recycling and I encourage our residents to make recycling a priority in every household.”

The Town of Brookhaven’s comprehensive education and outreach program includes the website (www.brookhavenNY.gov), direct mail, social media, school presentations and more, all designed to inform residents about what to recycle and how to recycle efficiently. To learn more about recycling in the Town of Brookhaven, go to www.BrookhavenNY.gov.

Brookhaven Recycles Day on Nov. 15

The Town of Brookhaven’s Department of Recycling and Sustainable Materials Management will hold the third annual Brookhaven Recycles Day contest from Tuesday, Nov. 15 through Tuesday, Dec. 6. Six lucky winners, one from each council district, will be selected to win a compost tumbler valued at $70 each.

To enter the Brookhaven Recycles Day contest, residents must “like” the Town of Brookhaven’s Facebook page and CURBY Facebook page, then share the post and pledge to recycle. The contest is open to Brookhaven residents only. Go to www.BrookhavenNY.gov/Contest for complete contest details and to enter.

Through Romaine’s Green Energy and Sustainability Initiative, the town has been “greening-up” its operations and facilities while saving taxpayer money by utilizing new, and more energy efficient technologies and renewable energy sources. All these efforts lower operation costs and reduce town carbon emissions. By encouraging waste diversion through recycling and composting, the town can further realize spending and emissions reductions.