September 2025
Sustainable Warwick Minutes
September 17, 2025
Sustainable Warwick Visits Recycling Facility
Sustainable Warwick members along with the Town's Climate Smart Task Force visit the North Arlington IWS Materials Recycling Facility.
Kate reported on the very successful visit to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at North Arlington NJ. Eight people, representatives of Sustainable Warwick and the Town of Warwick, had a very interesting tour of the Interstate Waste Services site (where recycling materials that are picked up in Warwick are processed) and learned a lot about what can be recycled and what cannot. There are many conveyor belts moving the material through the plant, which separates glass, metal, paper and cardboard, milk jugs, etc. into different streams at the rate of 45 tons/hour. The whole process stops when a non-recyclable item jams the line—such as a garden hose or propane canister that has been mistakenly placed in a single stream recycling bin. It all starts at the curb! The total shut down of the line happens 16% of the time. Our recycling fees would be lower if line-jamming items were put in the trash instead of single stream bins. There’s a strong need for community education about recycling. We will share more information about this on our website in the coming days. You can also learn more by visiting the IWS website.
Committee Reports
Composting: Kate advised that the bins at the Farmers market are filling rapidly at this point in the season, with twelve 27-gallon bins each week. The food scrap collection table is always looking for more volunteers. Garden@sustainablewarwick.org
Green Screen: We have two questions this year on the candidates' views on PDR and composting. Two interviews have been set up with two more to follow in the next few weeks. The election is in November.
Climate and Energy: Our committee hosted a small but well-received seminar at the Library on home energy efficiency. Members of the committee are also participating in the Town’s Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Task Force, which is both earning points in the CSC program and helping the Town find cost-effective ways to source energy and reduce energy consumption. CleanEnergy@sustainablewarwick.org
Zoom Garden Plot: This event will be closing down after five very successful years, but our archive of videos remains available. Gardeners with questions can still email them to Garden@sustainablewarwick.org, and we’ll run them by the ZGP team. (Hmmm. Could this be the seed of a new Email Garden Plot???)
Pollinator Pathway: Work is ongoing at Mountain Lake Park with Sally, Michael, Nicole and Alana leading the initiative. They are working on two sites near the pickleball courts and volunteers are welcome to join them on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 9AM. Reach out to let them know you are interested! Pollinators@sustainablewarwick.org
Book Club: We read "What If We Get It Right," by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a collection of quality interviews with climate solution experts in wide-ranging fields. The next title for our October meeting is Total Garbage by Edward Humes and copies are available now at the library. BookClub@sustainablewarwick.org
Helpsy Collection Boxes: There are now three (3) boxes for donations of clothing, shoes, fabric and other items in Warwick (next to the Police Station), Florida, and Greenwood Lake, thanks to the work of Julia and Kate. More info is available here.
Anti-Trash Talk Team: This group has created a survey to assess community awareness of reuse and recycling opportunities and how best to use them. We look forward to working with the Town and other non-profit organizations to help spread the survey through all corners of Warwick.
Our next meeting will be on October 15th at 7:00 PM via Zoom.