Farmingville, NY - Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine announced today that the Brookhaven Material Recovery Facility in Yaphank has accepted more than 25 million pounds of material for recycling since the facility reopened in May 2020. At approximately 10:00 am on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, the 25 millionth pound of recyclable material passed over the Town’s scale at the Brookhaven Environmental Center and was delivered to the Town’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) where it was sorted, processed and made ready for recycling. Pictured at left are Winters Bros. Vice President, Corporate and Public Affairs Will Flower; General Manager of the Brookhaven Material Recovery Facility Jeff Nella; Supervisor Ed Romaine and Town of Brookhaven Recycling Coordination Aide Zachary Sicardi. Pictured at right are Supervisor Ed Romaine (left) and General Manager of the Brookhaven Material Recovery Facility Jeff Nella.
“The Town’s Material Recovery Facility is a necessary part of the waste management system on Long Island,” said Supervisor Romaine. “Every person on Long Island produces more than 4.5 pounds of garbage each day. Most of that garbage is burned at one of four waste-to-energy plants located on Long Island. By reducing, reusing and recycling waste, we can be better stewards of our environment and cut down on the amount of waste that needs to be discarded.”
Equally important is the need to recycle right. “Good recycling starts with an extensive education program to inform and encourage residents to recycle,” said Supervisor Romaine. “Brookhaven has an extensive education program that includes our web site, direct mail, social media, broadcast TV and school presentations all designed to inform residents about how to recycle.”
Brookhaven’s Material Recovery Facility - the largest curbside recycling processing center on Long Island – was upgraded earlier in 2020. From January 2020 to May 2020, the recycling center was shut down during a $7.5 million upgrade that included the design, construction and installation of a new processing line, complete with optical sorting equipment and new mechanical sorting for plastic and metal containers. While the plant was off-line for renovations, the Town’s recyclables were shipped to multiple recycling facilities for processing.
Since the upgrade, the facility operator has noticed a change in the supply of inbound curbside materials that are delivered to the facility. “We have noticed a significant increase in cardboard containers,” said Jimmy Winters, Senior Vice President of Recycling and Transfer Operations for Winters Bros. “Last year cardboard made up about 34 percent of the recyclables delivered to the facility. Today, 50 percent of the recyclables delivered to the recycling center are cardboard boxes.” The increase is attributable to consumer behavior and the increase of on-line purchasing during the pandemic.
“Recycling is the one thing that everyone can do to improve the environment,” said Chris Andrade, Commissioner of Recycling & Sustainable Materials Management for the Town of Brookhaven. “The Town of Brookhaven has made great progress educating residents about how and when to responsibly recycle household items. The educational effort has resulted in better recycling. We are increasing our environmental education efforts through easy-to-use online tools and resident focused campaigns, school outreach efforts, social media and traditional communication tools to make people even more aware of the benefits of recycling.”
About the Town of Brookhaven Material Recovery Facility
A variety of processing technologies are used to sort, separate and segregate residential recyclables which come from homes throughout the Town of Brookhaven and other parts of Long Island. Material traveling through the system goes on a journey where it is subject to optical, mechanical and automated sorting. Once sorted, the various materials are baled and shipped to manufactures where they are used as raw material to make new items for consumers. Additionally, the new recycling capabilities at the Brookhaven Material Recovery Facility provides additional infrastructure which can help increase recycling rates on Long Island. Brookhaven assists other Towns and Villages with their recycling efforts by allowing municipalities to utilize the Town’s Material Recovery Facility.
About Winters Bros. Recycling of Long Island
Winters Bros. is the premier solid waste and recycling company on Long Island and serves as the operator of the Brookhaven Material Recovery Facility. The Company provides a full range of solid waste and recycling services to commercial, residential, industrial and municipal customers. Services are provided through a network of operations including multiple hauling locations, seven recycling centers, and eight transfer stations. The Company has a long and successful history in the solid waste and recycling business dating back to 1950. Today, Winters Bros. employees 367 dedicated people. The firm’s corporate office is in West Babylon, NY. Winters Brother’s mission is to create a cleaner and greener environment for generations to come. To learn more about the company, visit www.wintersbros.com
