Keep Wesley Hills Beautiful – Secure Your Garbage and Recyclables

One of the hot button issues that people reach out to me about is garbage.  I often get complaints about trash being scattered by bears and other animals, recyclables being scattered by the wind, and the ugliness of trash cans being left at the curb all week long.

Concerning animals getting into trash, I will not repeat the several messages that have gone out in the past, but here are some links to those messages: LINK1, LINK2, LINK3.  The Village is also working to set up a discount on bear tough cans, hopefully with free delivery from a local hardware store - more information when it becomes available.

Concerning recyclables being scattered by the wind (and sometime animals):

• Please make the effort to wash out containers and use the covers that were provided with your bins.
• Do not put out recyclables on non-collection days, save them for Wednesdays.  The more days these items are left at the curb, the more likely they are to be scattered.  Our trash collectors are not supposed to mix recyclables with garbage and their loads might be rejected at the transfer station if they contain too many boxes and containers, so they are incentivized to ignore recyclables on non-collection days.  In addition, the Village receives money from the County for every ton of recycling picked up and we lose out on this when it goes out as garbage.
• Do not put plastic bags or plastic film out in your recycling bins (or put your recyclables into plastic bags).  These items are not accepted by Rockland Green (the County recycling program) and damage their equipment.  These items may be recycled at local supermarkets and department stores.  Often when plastic bags or other unacceptable items are left in recycling bins, the collectors will not pick them up.
• Flatten and secure boxes.  This could be as simple as putting a rock on top of them, folding the into your bins or putting them under your bin.
• Bins and covers are available at Village Hall – call ahead to make sure they are in stock.

Concerning trash cans being left at the curb.  We pay a premium for side-yard collection, so there is never a need to bring your cans to the curb.  Trash collectors will come up your driveway to collect your trash.  As long as your garbage is properly bagged, it will be picked up at the side of your home.  You are paying for this service, so you might as well use it.

We all need to work together to make Wesley Hills a beautiful place to live.

Best regards,

Marshall Katz, Mayor