Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22nd and this is an excellent time to re-examine your building’s green policies.

We are fortunate to live and work in a city which leads the nation in green initiatives. While the public resources available are impressive, often recycling efforts can be improved, even in the greenest of buildings. And, improved recycling can increase more than goodwill. It can mean money in the bank, and not just from fewer fines for improper recycling.

Recycling impacts the quality of life in many positive ways but residents may not realize the negative impacts of improper recycling. When recycling is done improperly, it is an extra burden for not only the Staff in terms of redundant efforts but also a financial burden because of the fines from the City. And, improper recycling can very easily become a vermin problem when food waste is left on items to be recycled.

The key to an effective recycling program begins with education for both building staff and residents. Everyone who lives and works in the building should attend the same training session. The City has some excellent outreach programs which are available free of charge. In fact, the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE) sponsors many events and by visiting the OROE website frequently, Managers, Staff and Residents can learn about new recycling improvements and become acquainted with less frequently implemented programs like textile recycling and composting.

The key to recycling is not just implementation but revisiting and retraining to reinforce efficacy, an effective program truly is a “living” program. Check out the OROE website to improve your building’s recycling efforts – http://www.grownyc.org/oroe