BETHLEHEM – The town’s third annual “Spring Recycle Fest,” held on Saturday, April 8, broke previous records with 805 households dropping off approximately 50,730 pounds (or more than 25 tons) of materials, which averages out to nearly 6 pounds for every household in Bethlehem. More than $2,000 in donations were also raised to support Bethlehem Central School District’s environmental programs.
The event was a collaborative effort between the Town of Bethlehem Recycling/Sanitation, Highway, and Senior Services departments, the Bethlehem Central School District Green Team, the Delmar Farmers’ Market, Grassroot Givers, Up-Stitch, American Clothing Company, JGS Recycling, Cascade Recovery and 3N Document Destruction.
“We had over three dozen community volunteers again this year including many students from BCSD, representatives from each of our event partners, and additional community volunteers, including new this year—American National/Farm Family Insurance Company employees and their families (the company also held an employee collection just prior to the festival, which was included in event totals.) Collaborating with each of these community organizations and volunteers allows us to save an amazing amount of valuable materials from the landfill in just a few hours, with very minimal Town costs,” said Town of Bethlehem Recycling Coordinator Dan Lilkas-Rain.
“I’d like to thank these volunteers and each of our partner organizations, the hundreds of residents who helped celebrate Earth Day (a bit early) by participating, Highway Superintendent Brent Meredith and Director of Senior Services Jane Sanders, and especially BCSD Green Team coordinator Mark Warford and members Erin Engleson and Kate Kloss for their support and hours of hands-on volunteering,” Lilkas-Rain added.
Residents can continue to donate clothing, footwear and other textiles for reuse or recycling throughout the year (such as linens, stuffed animals, loose fabric, backpacks, and even ripped, stained or damaged items like missing buttons or a broken zipper—as long as they are not wet or contaminated) as part of “Re-Clothe NY,” a statewide campaign to promote clothing and textile recycling; visit www.nytextiles.org. Collection bins are located throughout town, including the bins at the Elm Ave CDTA Park and Ride, the Kenwood Avenue Municipal Parking Lot near Four Corners (next to Hughes Opticians), and the Town’s Rupert Road Transfer Station. Proceeds from these locations benefit the town. There is an additional blue bin at the Bethlehem Central Middle School parking lot that benefits the school’s green initiatives.
For more information about recycling in the town of Bethlehem, visit www.townofbethlehem.org or contact Dan Rain,: email [email protected] or call 439-4955 ext. 1510. For more details about the BCSD Green Team, visit www.bethlehemschools.org/green-team/.
