RCSWMA: PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

Every now and then a resident phones the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority and asks, "Is this the dump?" We love it when this happens. It us gives the opportunity to say, "You'll be pleased and amazed to know that Rockland County no longer has a dump or open landfill!" Rockland is a community that really does Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! We Rocklanders value our quality of life. We care about our green space, our clean air, and our pure water.

Our Solid Waste Authority is a leader in a new age of environmentally responsible waste management techniques. What does this mean? It means that we have a commitment to the best existing scientific techniques in the industry. It means that our staff and the members of our Authority Board are dedicated to staying ahead of the curve. It means we want to deliver the best to our residents. It means that we are committed to research, education, and community outreach.

So what happened to the dump? We don't need it! The "dump" is now an encapsulated landfill - a large, grassy hill -- and the Town of Ramapo is researching passive park uses for this area. Our residents have reduced the amount of their trash by separating out their recyclable materials. Those materials are no longer placed in landfills: They are bundled and sold to manufacturers as raw material for new products. Revenue from these sales reduces taxes by helping to pay for recycling collection and processing. Additionally, rebates from sale of the recyclables are returned to participating municipalities, based on the tonnage generated.

Our residents are appreciative. The Herb Reisman Environmental Education Center Journey to Spaceship Earth opened to the public on April 17, 2000. Since that time, more than 3,000 people have taken a tour of our facilities, visited the classroom and interactive museum and learned more about waste, recycling and the environment. Community education is the energy that fuels our operations, and we are expanding our educational outreach. A new Greenhouse and Conference Center have recently been completed, where we will be demonstrating composting and organic gardening techniques. Plans are also in the works for watershed education and we expect to use the Conference Center for a variety of Environmental Seminars.

In the Greenhouse, we will enrich our soil with compost that we make on site at the Cocomposting Facility. Rockland County has five wastewater treatment plants that generate biosolids. These biosolids along with ground wood waste, are the ingredients that our facility mixes, heats, and purifies to create tons of compost, thus solving the age-old problem of what to do with sewerage wastes. This potential pollutant is now a resource! Not only does the sale of this compost to commercial users reap financial rewards, it also beautifies our roadsides and landscapes.

Through the RCSWMA, Rockland residents participate in a worldwide environmental movement, the Global Action Plan Sustainable Lifestyle EcoTeam Program. Co-Sponsored by the Authority and the Rockland County Department of Transportation, our county is the New York State pilot location for this program, and we have the fastest growing membership in the entire United States. This community outreach program increases the level of community awareness and education about the environment, and waste-to-resource concepts in our personal lives as well as in the waste industry.

Think about the trash you produced at your house last week?

• Your recyclables were manufactured into new products.
• You composted your yard and food waste in your backyard bin, creating rich soil from "garbage".
• Your wastewater/biosolids/yardwaste become commercial compost.
• You took your old paint cans, left-over fertilizer, broken electronics and other hazardous wastes to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility.
• You didn't throw away useable items. You donated or sold goods such as clothing, toys, furniture that you no longer wanted, and you participated in personal conservation efforts, such as saving energy and reducing water consumption.

?Did you think about your trash? What was left over? If you participated in the actions listed above, your household generated very little "trash". Instead, you helped 'Save the Earth'. Congratulations! We are environmental partners? you are a community member of the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Team. Thanks to our Team effort, there are fewer landfills, and your neighborhood is a cleaner, more beautiful place to live.