Kick-off event to introduce new Can Carrier Collection Program in Ontario County. What to know
Ontario County will be hosting its kick-off event on Thursday, May 2, to introduce the newly launched Can Carrier Collection Program. Starting at 2 p.m., the event will take place at Brewery Ardennes in Geneva to encourage other local establishments to participate in the program and celebrate its early success.
What is the Can Carrier Collection Program?
The new packaging for many aluminum now includes plastic can carrier handles which are not able to be recycled with single-stream recycling. The lightweight and flat shape of these materials makes it difficult for recycling facilities to efficiently separate these can carriers for reuse, presenting an issue since the labeling on these products instructs customers to "please recycle".
The new Ontario County Can Carrier Collection Program hopes to combat this issue.
In a partnership with Casella and Reusable Solutions, the Ontario County Department of Sustainability & Solid Waste Management is launching this program which will be the first of its kind in the Finger Lakes region. By recruiting local business and municipal partners to serve as collection points, the program aims to make collecting these plastic carriers more convenient for residents and businesses that use them.
After collection, these carrier handles will be sanitized and reused by local breweries. Broken or unusable can carriers will also be accepted at participating collection points to then be separated and recycled.
“We are excited to launch this program and provide our residents with another opportunity to divert materials from the waste stream,” said Carla Jordan, Director of the Ontario County Department of Sustainability & Solid Waste Management. “Programs like the Can Carrier Collection Program are a great way for us to educate the community on the recycling system and also reduce barriers to making the sustainable choice."
How to get involved
There are currently 20 participating collection locations including breweries, retail locations and some municipal transfer stations. Many of these locations have also committed to reusing these collected carriers. The goal of the kick-off event on Thursday is to invite more local establishments to come ask questions and join in on the program.
"We had already been collecting and reusing can carriers on our own so joining a program that offered a broader and more organized approach made perfect sense for us," said Greg Searles, cofounder of Birdhouse Brewing Company. "This program ensures that they are properly recycled or reused."
The Department of Sustainability & Solid Waste Management says they have created resources and tools like collection bins, signs and social media content to help establishments implement the program and promote it to their customers.
To find participating collection locations and how to sign up to become a collection location, you can visit: http://www.ontariocountyrecycles.org
http://www.ontariocountyrecycles.org
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Can Carrier Collection Program in Ontario County NY plans kick-off event
