June 19, 2018 -- County Executive George Latimer and the Department of Environmental Facilities are proud to announce the winners of the first ever Westchester County Eco Awards. The awards recognize outstanding contributions to the County’s local environment and sustainability made by residents, students and schools, municipalities, businesses and other organizations.
County Executive Latimer said: “The Eco Awards provide an opportunity to recognize those individuals and institutions who contribute to making Westchester a great place to live, work and visit by improving and caring for our local environment.”
The award winners will be officially recognized on June 27 at 3:00 p.m. at an awards ceremony at Kensico Dam Plaza. Latimer will be on hand to present the awards and meet with the winners. In addition to several schools, students, local businesses, non-profits and other organizations, three municipalities will also receive awards for posting the highest curb side recycling rates in 2017: Town of Bedford, Town of Lewisboro and City of Rye. The efforts of these municipalities and others help make Westchester County one of the best recycling counties in New York State. Westchester boasted a 50% recycling rate in 2017, far outpacing the national recycling rate of only 34.6%. In addition, four students from Ossining High School will be honoured with awards for receiving special recognition at the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Fox Lane High School will also be honoured for earning a third place finish at the Hudson Valley Regional Envirothon.
Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Facilities Louis Vetrone said: “Westchester is fortunate to have so many people living and working here, who care about the local environment and want to help make it better.”
The 2018 Eco Award Winners are as follows:
Town of Bedford: For achieving the highest municipal curbside recycling rate in Westchester County in 2017 (35%)
Town of Lewisboro: For achieving a municipal curbside recycling rate of 33% in 2017
City of Rye: For achieving a municipal curbside recycling rate of 30% in 2017
Town of Mamaroneck/Village of Larchmont: For launching a voluntary food scrap recycling program in 2017
Town of Greenburgh in partnership with the Greenburgh Nature Center: For launching a voluntary food scrap recycling program in 2017
Town of Somers: For being designated a Climate Smart Community by New York State, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability
Reunion Foods (Irvington): For a commitment to healthful food choices, animal welfare and environmental sustainability
Eco Bags (Ossining): For a dedication to reducing waste and a commitment to production in socially responsible environments
DeCicco & Sons (Larchmont): For constructing and operating one of the nation’s most energy-efficient, cleanest and greenest supermarkets
Greyston Bakery (Yonkers): For diverting 735,000 lbs. of brownie waste for use as animal feed in 2017, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability
Tidal New York (New Rochelle): For developing a manufacturing process that produces flip-flops with almost zero waste, and a mission of hiring military veterans
Fox Lane H.S. “Envirothon Team 7: For earning a third-place finish at the 2018 Hudson Valley Regional Envirothon, Westchester County’s highest scoring team
Rye Country Day School: For a commitment to teaching sustainability and environmental awareness
Scarsdale H.S.: For the Sustainable Garden Project which demonstrates sustainable food production and has provided thousands of pounds of hand-grown organic food for local soup kitchens and food pantries
Ossining H.S.: Julia and Sabrina Piccirillo-Stosser and Kiara Taveras: For being Grand Award winners at the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair; Madiha Zia: For being a finalist at the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
Groundwork Hudson Valley: For working to make neighborhoods more livable and sustainable through on-the-ground environmental projects
The Great Healthy Yard Project: For working to improve and protect the quality of our drinking water in order to help families lead healthier lives
Repair Café Hudson Valley (Ossining): For offering free community events where people work with Repair Coaches to fix beloved but broken items
Hendrick Hudson Free Library: For being the first library in Westchester to be certified as a Green Business and establishing itself as a leader in promoting sustainability