If this free Eco Letter was forwarded to you and you'd like to be included in our mailing list, click here.

The free UWSR Eco Letter comes from Upper West Side Recycling six times a year. Each Eco Letter lists events taking place during the following two or three months and also includes a Commentary on an environmental topic relevant to the Upper West Side of Manhattan. We urge you to distribute this important information to appropriate people in your network and refer them to our website (www.uwsr.org).

Make sure to open and save a copy of our Hard-to-Recycle List for more information on how to recycle a wide variety of items, as well as our list of Environmental Organizations.

Please email us at [email protected] with any information you may have about upcoming environmental events for our consideration.

If this free Eco Letter was forwarded to you and you'd like to be included in our mailing list, click here.

Sometimes it seems as if everywhere you look some kind of construction, demolition or renovation is taking place. New builders are demolishing older structures to make room for new ones; businesses lease commercial spaces and need to reconstruct the interior for their own use; new tenants redesign their apartments, while others are perhaps redoing their kitchen or bathroom, or just making structural repairs.

All this ends up generating an estimated 7,500 tons of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste every day in New York City, and incomplete reporting means this figure may actually be low.

C&D debris is uncontaminated waste, meaning it doesn’t contain any hazardous substances. But it is not considered to be part of municipal solid waste and is therefore picked up by private carters rather than by the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY). If the amount of waste is too small to justify the use of a dumpster, a local waste debris removal contractor can be contacted. Or, if C&D waste is generated from do-it-yourself projects, you can dispose of it via the DSNY refuse collections or you can recycle some of it with DSNY or at some of the organizations listed below.

C&D materials include steel, wood products, drywall and plaster, bricks, clay tiles, asphalt shingles, concrete, and salvaged building components (such as doors, windows, and plumbing fixtures). Waste materials that are not considered C&D debris – even if they are generated from C&D activities – include asbestos- or lead-containing waste, household garbage, corrugated cardboard (which is recycled by DSNY), electrical fixtures and lights, carpeting (read about the new carpeting law in our January/February 2023 Eco Letter), furniture, appliances, tires, oil drums, and fuel tanks (see our Hard-to-Recycle List for ideas about what to do with these).

So what happens to all this debris? First, it’s generally loaded into dumpsters, which, when full, are then transported by a hauler to a construction and demolition debris handling and recovery facility (CDDHRF), where the materials are processed. These processing centers either accept specific, separated materials, such as metal for recycling, or extract recyclables from mixed loads before sending the balance of the material to a transfer station. At transfer stations the waste is loaded into larger trucks that take it to landfills or incinerators located outside the City.

There are about 20 CDDHRFs in New York City, although none of them are in Manhattan. Each facility is required to be inspected annually and must regularly submit a report of their activities.

NYC has a number of facilities that accept segregated streams of materials. For example, scrap yards (including a few in Manhattan) generally accept metals, and “clean fill” processors accept only concrete, dirt and other inert materials. These facilities recycle or re-use virtually 100% of the material they handle, and their fees for accepting segregated materials are much lower than those charged by mixed C&D processors.

Following are some local companies that recycle a variety of C&D waste materials:

Bricks:

An interesting example of the utilization of recycled bricks is The West, a new condo building with 219 residences at the corner of 47th Street and Eleventh Avenue. The facade is constructed from bricks made from nearly 580,000 pounds of demolition and industrial waste. Created by the Dutch company StoneCycling, the recycled bricks contain 60% waste, including ceramic toilet bowls, roof tiles, and steel.

Local brick recyclers include:

Concrete and Asphalt:

Wood can be reclaimed as vintage lumber. It can also be shredded and then re-used as bedding for pets or agricultural uses, or it can be incorporated into new products such as tables and other furniture. See also Concrete and Asphalt, above.

More and more people are using reclaimed wood, which combines a distinctive character with the eco-friendliness of a recycled building material. Most often used in wall paneling, reclaimed wood can also be turned into flooring, furniture, beams and other structural members. You’ll likely get a lot of hits if you search for “reclaimed wood” on Amazon, E-Bay, Home Depot or Lowes, but be alert to the fact that some wood purchased through large retailers isn’t actually reclaimed but is new wood that has been distressed, stained or otherwise processed to look older and more weathered. Real reclaimed wood is usually unstained, unfinished and may be riddled with nail holes.

Builders are aware of the value of reclaimed lumber. During demolition they'll often make a concerted effort to salvage usable flooring, interior woodwork, siding and structural timber. They may already be under contract with a distributor, but they’re often happy to sell to anyone willing to haul the wood away.

Local recyclers who process and sell used or vintage wood include:

You can access an ARCHIVE OF PAST COMMENTARIES here.

Sometimes we're notified of events after we send you the current bi-monthly issue. Be sure to check here on our website to see any updates.

(See also our Hard-to-Recycle List)

Lower East Side Ecology; (212) 477-4022.  Hosts E-Waste recycling events during the year throughout Manhattan. Events occur as scheduled, rain or shine.  

Accepted (unless otherwise noted): Computers and peripherals (monitors, printers, faxes/scanners, keyboards, mice, wires, etc.); TVs; stereo and A/V equipment, VCRs, DVD players; cell and wall phones.

Not Accepted: Microwaves, small appliances, refrigerators, air conditioners, smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. If you're not sure about a given item, check with Lower East Side Ecology before you bring it; (212) 477-4022.

Ongoing: Functioning cell phones and chargers can be donated to the Office of Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, 245 West 104th Street. Info: (212) 866-3970

(See also our Hard-to-Recycle List)

Wearable Collections will pick up from your building (for more details see our Hard-to-Recycle List).

Accepted by Wearable Collections: Clean textiles, including clothing and shoes, handbags, blankets, sheets, curtains, towels, etc.

Not Accepted: Scraps, pillows, comforters, luggage or carpeting.

Collection of textiles at some greenmarket sites as been temporarily suspended. Check the Grow NYC website for current status.

Check the Grow NYC website for an up-to-date list of locations and hours for locations to recycle textiles. For information: Grow NYC, (212) 788-7964. Events occur as scheduled, rain or shine.

The Morningside Park Down-to-Earth Farmers Market (110th & Manhattan Avenue) accepts textiles from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Saturdays. Info: Down to Earth.

Also, United War Veterans Council, Salvation Army, and Goodwill will pick up from residential buildings. So will re-fashion NYC (new enrollments are on hold, but you may now submit an application). See the Textiles Section of our Hard-to-Recycle List for more specific information.

Other Recycling/Solid Waste 

(See also our Hard-to-Recycle List)

Year-round Greenmarkets and scrap drop-off locations in Upper Manhattan that accept food waste include locations at: Tucker Square Greenmarket [66^th Street and Columbus Avenue]; 79^th Street Greenmarket [77^th Street betw. Columbus Avenue and Central Park West]; 97^th Street Greenmarket [West 97^th & Amsterdam Avenue]; Columbia University Greenmarket [West 116^th Street and Broadway]; St. Mary's Harlem Food Scrap Drop-off, 521 West 126th Street; 181st Street and Fort Washington Avenue; Inwood Greenmarket, Isham Street and Seaman Avenue (north corner). (See Grow NYC for status and hours or our Hard-to-Recycle List for more information and other locations).

If this free Eco Letter was forwarded to you and you'd like to be included in our mailing list, click here.

Contact: [email protected]    Web site:  www.uwsr.org