WHY ?

The Madison County Dept. of Solid Waste & Sanitation manages waste generated in Madison County. The following is intended to inform citizens about the Box board recycling program which began on Earth Day, April 22, 1995.

The advantages of adding boxboard as a new recyclable are many:

• conserves landfill space.
• generates revenues, through the sale of recycling material, that help offset the costs of running a program.
• saves energy, because it takes less energy to make products from recyclables than from raw materials.
• slows the increasing cost of solid waste management.
• saves natural resources such as trees, minerals, and fossil fuels.
• is the right thing to do!

Boxboard is easy for residents and businesses to identify and separate. Furthermore, the County's 1994 Waste Characterization Study revealed a significant amount of boxboard is generated in the County: approximately 4 percent of the municipal waste stream.
Boxboard generates a positive revenue and the markets show both current and long-term viability. Even if boxboard had to be baled separately from other paper, it is readily sortable on the picking line at the ARC recycling facility.

Did you know?

• Packaging accounts for about 1/3 of what we throw out.
• Each American disposes of 4 pounds of trash a day. That comes to nearly 3 tons a year for a family of 4.
• New Yorkers are more wasteful than that, generating about a ton per person each year.
• Each year the amount of trash we produce is growing.

Email questions or comments to madcosw@gpoconnect.net