The Daniel P. Thomas Material Recovery Facility (MRF) serves as the cornerstone for recycling efforts for the municipalities in the Refuse Disposal District #1. The facility processed 72,000 tons of recyclables in 2013. Revenue from the sale of recyclables (an 80 percent share, as per contract agreement with City Carting) was over $5,000,000.
About 90 percent of the residentially collected recyclable material in Westchester County is processed at the MRF. The facility recently underwent a five-month retrofit, to outfit it with the latest technology. Now high tech optical sorting equipment shoots thousands of laser beams per second through each plastic container to identify the resin type. This allows the county to continue recycling plastic containers coded 1 and 2 and also collect and recycle containers coded 3 through 7, including yogurt containers, plastic cups and take-out food boxes.
The MRF Education and Conference Center, located inside the facility, allows visitors to observe the operation of a garbage and recyclables transfer station. In 2014, a Recycled Material Art Gallery was installed in the Education Center. Groups can tour the MRF and new Recycled Material Art Gallery in the county's educational tour program, which is available for schools, scout troops, business people, private citizens and anyone else interested in how one of the nation’s premier recycling facilities, operates. The MRF Education Center and Recycled Material Art Gallery attracts up to 6,000 visitors each year, including thousands of students from schools throughout Westchester. Professionals and special interest groups also used the Conference Center throughout the year for meetings.
MRF Tours
Tours to the Education Center of the Westchester County Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Yonkers are fun, educational, free of charge and suitable for students of all ages.
Household Material Recovery Facility (H-MRF)
The H-MRF is located on the Grasslands Reservation in Valhalla. Operated by the Department of Environmental Facilities Solid Waste and Recycling Division, the H-MRF is the place to bring your hard-to-get-rid-of household waste on a year-round basis. This includes household chemicals, cleaning products, pesticides, tires, re-chargeable batteries, and confidential papers for shredding, plus Freon-containing items and appliances, electronic waste, propane tanks and medications. Delivery of items is by appointment only, and medicines are only accepted on designated days. When booking an appointment, you will enter your zip code and then be able to view the calendar of available days, including designated med take-back days.
The Charles Point Resource Recovery Facility
The Charles Point Resource Recovery Facility, located in Peekskill, was built in response to a federal mandate to close the county’s Croton Point Landfill and local incinerators. In 1982, 26 municipalities joined in a special assessment district, called the Refuse Disposal District #1, that enabled the WCAIDA to build the Charles Point Facility. The facility began operations in 1984, by providing dependable, environmentally safe disposal of municipal solid waste for Westchester County, while generating clean, renewable electricity. For additional information, and to view a video on how the Charles Point Facility operates, see the Wheelabrator Web site.
Designed, constructed, and operated by Wheelabrator Westchester, the facility supports county residents by processing up to 2,250 tons per day of municipal solid waste. The Charles Point Facility has a permitted capacity of 710,000 tons per year. It is equipped with a magnetic separation system that extracts ferrous metals from the ash, which is then recycled. The plant has an electrical generating capacity of 60,000 kilowatts; the equivalent of supplying the electrical needs of 88,000 New York homes.
The facility accepts solid waste from all municipalities in the Refuse Disposal District #1, which has grown to include 36 communities, representing approximately 90 percent of the county’s population. In 2013, the facility processed 680,143 tons of solid waste and recovered 11,666 tons of ferrous metal. 352,642 tons of solid waste was delivered by Refuse Disposal District #1 municipalities. Private carters and direct haul waste delivered the balance of refuse to the Charles Point Facility.
Brockway Place Transfer Station
The Brockway Place Transfer Station is located in White Plains. This station was constructed in 1995 and is capable of handling 600-900 tons of refuse per day. Waste that is delivered to the county’s transfer station is compacted into 75 cubic yard trailers (approximately 25 tons) and delivered to the Charles Point Resource Recovery Facility. White Plains, Port Chester, Scarsdale, Harrison, Rye and Rye Brook deliver waste to the transfer station.
South Columbus Avenue Station
The South Columbus Avenue Transfer Station is located in Mount Vernon. This station was constructed in 1984 and is capable of handling 600-900 tons of refuse per day. Waste that is delivered to the county’s transfer station is compacted into 75 cubic yard trailers (approximately 25 tons) and delivered to the Charles Point Resource Recovery Facility. Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Pelham, Pelham Manor, Larchmont/Mamaroneck, and Mamaroneck Village deliver waste to the transfer station.