Update: Due to an unexpected delay in the delivery of the recycling bins, the June 10 event scheduled for Shorefront Park has been postponed until a date to be determined.
by Joseph Keyes |
I am fairly confident many of those reading this have heard most of the arguments presented by environmentalists in their attempts to change the mindsets of those who are either unaware of, or uncaring about the positive effects of recycling plastics.
Ah, what the hell, I’m going to remind you anyway — and add one more benefit that Patchogue Village residents have not considered.
The use of plastic has increased so much throughout the years that you can now find it in practically everything. It is in bottles like mouthwash and shampoo, glass cleaners, dishwashing liquid, beverages, furniture, appliances, computers, and automobiles. (When’s the last time you saw a chrome bumper on the road?)
You’ve heard the argument that plastic pollutes oceans, that there are “plastic islands” spanning thousands of square miles currently swirling around in the Pacific — these ‘islands’ are larger than the state of Texas.
It is literally (or should I have used two ‘t’s’?) a plastic wasteland that we have created.
Over 700 species of animals are negatively impacted by plastic, as it cannot be digested. Countless numbers of marine and wildlife die annually; these deaths are directly related to plastic ingestion.
The Village of Patchogue administration, under the peerless leadership of Mayor Paul Pontieri, has not turned a deaf ear to all of these issues, and will soon be placing recycling barrels in all of its village-owned parks, several of which are currently undergoing major renovations. The parks renovation is a vital element of the village’s ongoing “Storefront to Shorefront” campaign.
A recent study indicated that 47 percent of those surveyed do not recycle in public places such as parks because a recycle bin cannot be found, and another 42 percent responded that there are too few bins.
The barrels have been awarded to the Village of Patchogue via a Keep America Beautiful grant, sponsored by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
The grant was applied for on behalf of the village by the PEP (Protecting the Environment in Patchogue) Committee. The PEP Committee is also responsible for introducing the legislation for the single-use bag ban and for the purchase of aerator/fountains for Patchogue Lake.
Hopefully, the addition of the barrels will help to begin to change mindsets and encourage the proper recycling of cans and bottles. Village of Patchogue residents currently consume 1.8 million plastic water bottles annually and approximately 70 percent, or 1.3 million of those bottles are thrown away, adding to the litter on our roadways, and being responsible for the other issues that I’ve stated.
While I am confident that many Village of Patchogue residents are willingly participating in the efforts to protect our environment in Patchogue, I’m not so naïve as to believe that all those reading this will be impressed enough to change their current habits of non-recycling.
So I submit this: the Village of Patchogue generates added revenue, thousands of dollars each year, by proper recycling. Added revenue helps to stabilize the tax rate and equates to dollars in your pocket. To not recycle properly would be to say that money is literally (there’s that word again) being thrown away.
The tentative date for the unveiling of the recycling barrels is June 10 at 11 a.m. at Shorefront Park, preceding a World Environment Day event being held at Blue Point Brewing Co on River Avenue, which is scheduled to begin at noon.
Please keep checking local media sites for confirmation.
Hope to see you many of you on the 10th, and I trust that you will make proper use of the recycling barrels a priority while visiting our parks.
Joseph Keyes is a Patchogue Village trustee
Photo: Recyclables in a bin behind a Waverly Avenue home in Patchogue. (Credit: Michael White)
