On Presidents’ Day, I went to dump my food-scrap bin at Tarrytown’s drop-off near Losee Park, and decided to go for a sunset stroll along the Riverwalk there. I keep plastic bags and a collapsible “trash-picker” in my car, so I brought them along, knowing that stretch of Riverwalk has been prone to littering.

First, I was pleasantly surprised that our Village has placed pairs of trash and recycling bins at four locations along the path between Lots F and G, at either end of the Losee Park ballfield. They were well used, but not quite overflowing, which was good.
 

But the presence of the bins doesn’t guarantee everyone will use them. On my half-hour walk, I was able to gather three bags full of trash and recyclables, much of it plastic that probably would have blown into the River to eventually join the sea of harmful microplastics circulating around the globe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_garbage_patch . 
 

And all of it was within sight and a short walk to the Village bins. Some folks try to hide their “sins” by dropping their refuse over the fence that lines the Riverwalk, almost guaranteeing it will end up in the River, and making it hard for us to reach it.
 

The most interesting thing I noticed was the proliferation of what I call “the new trash”: the detritus of the pandemic, and of new habits: Masks, wipes, plastic gloves, cigar tubes, and empty vape pipes.
 

People may believe these are benign trash, but they are not: Masks contain layers of “nonwoven fabric”, which is made of fine plastic fibers, already microscopic in scale. Similarly, hand wipes are plastic-based, and many surgical gloves are as well (latex ones will biodegrade, but they are gross looking and may be contaminated.) Vape pipes contain a lithium-ion battery, which is environmentally toxic, and in fact, recyclable through our County Household Materials Recovery Facility (H-MRF) in Valhalla. You can bring all sorts of hazardous materials, electronic waste, and documents to shred to the H-MRF – just make an easy online appointment: https://environment.westchestergov.com/h-mrf-reservation .

TEAC encourages residents to take clean-up walks like this. It’s a feel-good activity, and is actually healthy for both yourself and our environment!

Throughout the month of April, we’ll be working to spruce up our streets, swap clothing and housewares, plant trees/shrubs, get out in nature to explore and clean up, and so much more!

For our celebration to be a success, we need you or your organization to get involved! If you’d like to spearhead an event or participate in our planning activities, get in touch with us at info@tarrytownenvironmental.com or come to our next general TEAC meeting, this Thursday, March 3 at 7pm. (See Zoom login information above.)

Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council resumes its film series on Thursday, March 24, with a showing of "Kiss the Ground", the story of regenerative agriculture to combat climate change. 

The Warner Library is once again hosting the event on the third floor. Afterwards, join TEAC for a lively discussion about the film.

You can sign up on Eventbrite at https://www.tarrytownenvironmental.org, or just come to the library!

Other films in the series will be shown at the Warner Library monthly, into June. All film events run from 7-9pm.

By Cari Newton 

With Earth Day approaching next month, it is time to gear up to join the pursuit of making our Earth a cleaner, better place to live for all beings. 

Though often overlooked, one small change you can make to make a huge impact is to eat less or no meat.