Public Space Recycling Expands in Trumansburg

The Tompkins County Department of Recycling and Materials Management recently installed a second public space recycling station in the Village of Trumansburg, as part of a plan to expand the program in 2019.

There are now 11 public space bins at nine different locations in Tompkins County.

Staff from the village Department of Public Works had expressed interest in adding a second public space bin in response to the success of the first one sited along Main Street, in the heart of Trumansburg’s business district. The second location is outside the Little Venice restaurant, where previously there was a trash bin but no recycling option. The stations feature two receptacles – one for on-the-go trash items like coffee cups and snack wrappers, and the other for single-stream recyclables like cans, bottles and newspapers.

“Existing programs around the world have found success in increasing waste diversion by simply placing bins and signs in public spaces, near existing trash receptacles, for convenience,” said Nancy Webster, a Waste Reduction and Recycling Specialist for Tompkins County. “The goal of this program is increase access to recycling in public spaces, allowing residents and visitors alike to divert more waste throughout the county.”

In addition to Trumansburg, public space bins can also be found in Dryden’s Montgomery Park, and in Ithaca next to the Public Library on East Green Street, outside several county-owned buildings including the Human Services Building and Tompkins County Courthouse, and alongside the TCAT bus shelter on Hancock Street, among other locations.

Webster said the public space recycling program will continue to expand, as funding allows, with locations in high-traffic areas such as parks and community centers throughout Tompkins County.

Contact: Nancy Webster, Waste Reduction and Recycling Specialist, 273-6632

 A second public space recycling bin is now located along Main Street in Trumansburg. (provided)