The Southold community has embraced a modern way to manage waste in one of their busiest public spaces: Love Lane in Mattituck. This quintessential main street in the community features a train station, post office, shops and restaurants for pedestrians to enjoy.
Located on the North Fork of Long Island, New York about 85 miles from Manhattan, Southold is well enjoyed by its 22,000 residents and many annual visitors and vacationers. Featuring nearly 160 miles of coastline and over 30 wineries, the community has been described by the New York Times as a “mix of rural charm, wine country sophistication and laid-back beach town.”
Adopting the Bigbelly smart waste and recycling system has enabled the community to reduce required collections from 20 to 5 per month – a 75% reduction. These saved resources can now be reallocated towards more meaningful projects in town. In addition, the multi-stream, solar-powered compactors have diverted 28% of public waste from landfill over the last twelve months in addition to visibly showcasing their commitment to sustainability.
Bigbelly continues to enhance environments from the hustle and bustle of downtown Manhattan to the public spaces of this quaint community. Read on for local coverage printed in Newsday Publication on December 19, 2017:
The costs for trash removal related to a key street in Southold have gone down with the installation of new Bigbelly trash receptacles last year and could lead to more such bins around town in 2018, according to Southold Public Works officials.
Southold placed solar-powered compacting receptacles in mid-2016 on Love Lane, a street officials have pointed to as heavily littered in years past. To date, according to new statistics from Southold Public Works Director Jeff Standish, the receptacles have collected 22,000 gallons of trash and 9,970 gallons of recyclables.
Standish said that on average, town sanitation workers previously had to empty regular trash bins on Love Lane 20 times per month. Since the new bins’ arrival, crews have to make cleanup stops there only above five times per month.
Standish called the program an “absolute” success with the bins encouraging recycling and cutting down on costs related to labor and cleanup on Love Lane.
“Love Lane is a busy place. It’s crazy down there,” said Standish. “In the past, it was garbage on the streets, and now the place is completely clean and people are responsibly recycling. It’s an awesome program.”
Source: Newsday Print Publication (12/19/17) by Jean-Paul Salamanca
