For Release: Tuesday, March 24, 2009
State to Collect Thousands of Pounds of Pesticides and Chemicals in Capital Region Counties
DEC's "CleanSweepNY" Program Provides Opportunity For Proper Disposal
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today that a spring "CleanSweepNY" initiative will begin next month in several Capital Region counties.
The program provides an opportunity to ensure proper disposal of unwanted and/or obsolete pesticides and chemicals, including elemental mercury, to help foster a healthy and sustainable New York. This spring's effort is focused on Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Schoharie counties - comprising DEC's Region 4 - and will take place during the week of April 6, 2009.
CleanSweepNY is administered by DEC, which collaborates with the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide drop-off sites for the collection of unwanted materials. The program is supported by Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Agricultural Container Recycling Council and related associations.
"CleanSweepNY is a proven approach to reducing the amounts of old, unwanted or outdated pesticides and other chemicals in our communities," Commissioner Grannis said. "With nearly 750,000 pounds of hazardous chemicals already collected to date, DEC and our partners at DOT are looking forward to April's collection event and providing businesses, farms, and institutions with a convenient way to properly dispose of these materials so that they can stay out of our landfills."
New York State Department of Transportation Executive Deputy Commissioner Stanley Gee said; "Partnering with the Department of Environmental Conservation and participating in the CleanSweepNY program is one more way the Department of Transportation is helping to advance Governor David Paterson's green agenda. The drop-off locations we are making available will help facilitate the proper disposal of thousands of pounds of hazardous chemicals and help to keep New York State clean."
CleanSweepNY is an Environmental Benefit Project, initially established with approximately $2.2 million from several enforcement settlements in DEC's pesticides program. This spring's CleanSweepNY collection event is the 12th since the program's inception in 2002. To date, CleanSweepNY has collected and disposed of over 746,000 pounds of hazardous chemicals, more than 487 pounds of elemental mercury and collected over 2,000 pesticide containers for recycling that would have otherwise wound up in landfills.
April's CleanSweepNY effort is directed at agricultural and non-agricultural professional pesticide applicators, schools and business users such as golf courses, cemeteries, and marinas. Additionally, empty, triple-rinsed HDPE-2 plastic pesticide containers will be collected and recycled. To date, 44 participants are registered to turn in an estimated 22,597 pounds of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals for proper disposal. Drop-off locations convenient to the targeted counties are planned for Schenectady, Oneonta, and Hudson DOT facilities.
Pre-registration is required for CleanSweepNY drop-offs. Registration packets will be mailed to potential participants upon request. To request a packet or to get more information, visit http://www.cleansweepny.org or call toll free: 1-877-SWEEPNY.
