At the annual Earth Day Celebration, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino recognized 26 local governments, school children and others from the community for their efforts to help make this happen.
The awards presentation took place on Sunday, April 18 at the Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla.
The 2010 awards were presented as follows:
1. For being one of Westchester’s top five municipalities with the highest increase in paper and commingled (glass, plastic and metal container) recyclables in 2009:
Village of Pelham Manor
Village of Larchmont/Town of Mamaroneck Joint Sanitation Commission
Village of Port Chester
Town of Greenburgh
Town of Eastchester
2. For conducting model programs processing all collected yard waste into useable gardening material as a give back to local residents and the community:
Town of New Castle with 4,250 tons
Town of Yorktown with 3,860 tons
3. For maintaining the strongest municipal bulk metal recycling collection program in all of Westchester in 2009:
Town/Village of Harrison with 2,040 tons.
4. For producing comprehensive solid waste and recycling informational material for their residents:
Town of Cortlandt Village of Irvington
City of New Rochelle Town of Bedford
5. For organizing and hosting its first Annual “Yonkers Green Business Summit,” an event assisting local businesses identify, network, monitor and track measurable environmental and recycling practices:
City of Yonkers
6. For providing detailed thoroughness in the submission of the 2009 Solid Waste Management Plan Annual Update to the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities:
Town of Cortlandt
Town of Yorktown
7. Katie Fein - 12th Grade Student at the Hackley School, Tarrytown
For exceptional leadership, initiative and voluntary work to coordinate recycling and a school-wide food waste composting program at the Hackley School and to organize the Student Summit for Sustainability held at the Hackley School on March 5, 2010
8. Katie Mayer - 12th Grade Student at the Scarsdale Public Schools
For initiative to study and report energy and environmental conservation practices affecting the Scarsdale School District and for exceptional leadership and voluntary work at the Student Summit for Sustainability held at the Hackley School on March 5, 2010
9. Ryan Costa – 7th Grade Student at Tuckahoe Middle School
For designing and delivering a PowerPoint presentation detailing recyclables collected and marketed at the County’s Material Recovery Facility, along with other County programs and services available to Westchester including the Veggie Van and Mobile Shredder
4. Tana Gullotta – 2nd Grade Teacher at King Street Elementary School, Port Chester
For outstanding leadership in developing a recycling program for the King Street Elementary School including a student poster contest, and for coordinating yearly school tours of the County’s Material Recovery Facility for the school’s 2nd grade classes
5. Joan Aracich – Art Teacher at Longfellow Middle School, Mount Vernon
For leadership creativity in initiating and coordinating recycling throughout both the Longfellow Middle School in 2006 and William Holmes Elementary School in 2008, involving school assemblies, field trips to the County’s MRF, meetings with school administration, students, custodial and cafeteria staff, and grant writing for funding of recycling containers
6. Maureen J. Harten – Principal at Immaculate Conception Elementary
School, Tuckahoe
For leadership and creativity in developing programs endorsing school-wide recycling,
including a new 30 student “Recycling Ranger” program
7. Andy Mrose - 6th Grade Student at Paidea School #15, Yonkers
For creating a drawing under the theme "New York Recycles" which made front page placement in the 2010 New York State Recycling Calendar
8. Jeffrey Fukushima - 4th Grade Student at Paidea School #15, Yonkers
For creating a drawing under the theme "Don't Trash Our Air" which won first place in the grades 4 to 6 category and is the poster for the month of June in the 2010 New York State Recycling Calendar
9. Miles Dower - 1st Grade Student at Paidea School #15, Yonkers
For creating a drawing under the theme "Let's Pick It Up New York!" which won third place in the K to 3 category in the 2009 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Poster Contest
10. Jesse Crell for more than two decades of service providing leadership and direction as Chairperson to the Westchester County Refuse Disposal District Advisory Board
11. Waste Management for being the top recycler among private haulers operating in Westchester County in 2009