Trashing this town

I don't stand Syrabuse. And I'm a big fan of the 3R's. Put them together and what do you get, bibbity, bobbity...RECYCLING!

Flash back to the Magic Schoolbus, boys n gals. Where does it all go? The food down the garbage disposal? All the tvs and dressers put out to the curb at the end of the semester? The pile of cardboard boxes (preferably flattened and tied with cotton twine)? Batteries? Those plastic water bottles and soda cans*? www.ocrra.org is the best resource for how to dispose of it and where. Got questions? This excellent site has all your answers.

Here are the Onondaga County Basics About Garbage.

First, if you live in Syracuse, you're in Onondaga County.

Second, everything you flush or put down a street grate ends up at our state of the art Metro Waste Water Treatment Plant. Or at least, it should. We have a little infrastructure issue with Combined Sewer Overflows that allow storm water to flood our system and dump untreated waste water directly into Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake. Bad news bears. That's why we have Save the Rain and a government priority on green infrastructure.

Third, everything you throw in your trash can ends up in our Waste-to-Energy Facility incinerator plant on Rock Cut Road in Jamesville (you pass it near the intersection of Rts 81/481 near Brighton Road). The electricity generated from this plant powers 30,000 homes.

Fourth, everything you put in your Blue Bins to recycle contributes to the 65% recycling participation rate we have in our county. This makes us one of the best recyclers in the nation, and Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA)- the fine folks who provide those free Blue Bins- a national leader in solid waste management. So Go Green! Be a good neighbor, and fill those Blue Bins with the Recyclables glass, aluminum, paper/cardboard, and plastics #1,2,5. OCRRA hands out mad cool magnets and printable charts to help you remember all that.

We've got some private industry folk who help out too. Here's a relevant heads'up.
Cxtec’s Lifecyclexpress will be hosting the first of many Community Wide Collection events at its Recycling Center next Saturday June 25th from 8am-Noon.
http://www.lifecyclexpress.com

A list of items you can bring include: Cabling, Calculators, Cameras, , Computer Monitors (CRT), DVD & VHS Players, Flat Screens, Fax Machines, Hubs, Keyboards, Laptops, MP3 Players, Modems, Mouse Devices, Personal Computers (PC’s), Phones (Corded & Wireless), Printers, Routers, Servers, Stereos, Speakers, Switches, TVs, and Video Cameras. Feel free to share the information!

Directions :
From the South
Take Interstate 81 North and take Exit 16A (I-481 North) to Exit 1 (Rock Cut Rd). Take a right and travel a short distance to the light and turn Right onto Brighton Ave. Go to the next light and turn Right onto Ainsley Drive, we're on the Right.

From the North:
Take Interstate 81 South and take Exit 17 (Brighton Ave). Stay in the far left lane and at the light turn Left onto State St. Stay in the far left lane and at the next light turn Left onto Brighton Ave. At the second light turn Left on Ainsley Dr. The CXtec TCDC is on the Right.

From the East:
Take NYS Thruway West to Interstate 481 South and take Exit 1 (Brighton Avenue). Turn Right and travel a short distance to the light and turn Right onto Ainsley Drive, we're on the Right.

From the West:
Take NYS Thruway East to Interstate 81 South. Follow directions from the NORTH.

*sure, you can recycle all those bottles and cans (clap your hands!)...or you can return them to any area supermarket for a five cents a pop. That's all thanks to the anti-littering legislation known as the NYS "Better Bottle Bill". Sounds sexy, right? All I know is it sure adds up fast.