DEC Announces Record-Breaking New York City and Long Island "CleanSweepNY" Collection

 

Nearly 220,000 Pounds of Pesticides and Chemicals Collected

 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today DEC held a record-breaking CleanSweepNY collection this July in Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties as part of a targeted initiative in DEC’s Long Island and New York City regions. CleanSweepNY events promote a healthy and sustainable New York by providing opportunities for proper disposal of unwanted and/or obsolete pesticides and other chemicals.

The Queens and Long Island CleanSweepNY event collected 191,512 pounds of pesticides and 28,319 pounds of other items such as paint and other chemicals. This collection event breaks the CleanSweepNY record set earlier this year (of 218,369 pounds) with the collection of a total of 219,869 pounds of pesticides and chemicals.

“CleanSweepNY helps keep unwanted pesticides and other chemicals out of our environment, communities, and municipal landfills.” Commissioner Seggos said. “DEC is pleased so many farmers, businesses, and institutions in the region are participating in this critical work to help build a toxic-free future for New York State.” 

 DEC established CleanSweepNY in 2002 with funds from several enforcement settlements through the agency’s Pesticides Management program to promote proper disposal practices of these potentially harmful chemicals. Since the program's inception, CleanSweepNY collection events across New York State have captured more than three million pounds of chemicals.

The NYC and Long Island collection events were held at a New York City Parks facility in Queens and New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) facilities in Riverhead, and Melville.

CleanSweepNY services are provided to farmers and owners of former farms, all categories of NYS-certified pesticide applicators, cemeteries, golf courses, marinas, schools, landscapers and lawncare providers, nurseries, greenhouses, and other entities possessing unwanted or unusable pesticides and other waste chemicals.

DEC organized the events in collaboration with DOT and New York State Parks, which provided sites in the targeted DEC regions for the collection of these unwanted chemical materials. The program is supported by Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Agricultural Container Recycling Council, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, New York Farm Bureau, and other related grower associations.

For more information on CleanSweepNY, visit http://www.cleansweepny.org or call (518) 225-8146. For information about reducing household hazardous waste, visit DEC’s website.