New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

solid waste

Niagara’s Manhattan Project Legacy Haunting Homeowners

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Angry local residents at a meeting Monday, July 20 with EPA and DEC officials about Niagara County radiation ocntaminationElevated radiation levels have been detected in the yards of over 120 homes in Niagara County, NY. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been conducting the first radiological survey of the area since 1984 and at least four families have fled their homes.

Governor Kathy Hochul has called on the EPA to step up testing and accelerate distribution of resources to those affected [Read more…] about Niagara’s Manhattan Project Legacy Haunting Homeowners

New York State’s Polystyrene Foam Ban Expanded

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plastic cup and foam bowl in black garbage bags solid wast foam banIn 2020, New York State adopted the nation’s strongest state ban of expanded polystyrene, single-use foam food and beverage containers, and polystyrene loose fill packaging materials, commonly known as packing peanuts. On January 1, 2026, the state’s Foam Ban expanded to include a ban on polystyrene foam coolers and other containers designed or intended to be used for cold storage. [Read more…] about New York State’s Polystyrene Foam Ban Expanded

The Dirt on Composting Podcast Highlights New York State

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DEC Does What PodcastThe latest New York State Department of Environmental Conservation DEC Does What?! podcast, “The Dirt on Composting,” spotlights the work of DEC’s organics reduction and recycling staff who oversees statewide food scraps and yard waste management and composting efforts. [Read more…] about The Dirt on Composting Podcast Highlights New York State

Students Work To Clean Up Saranac River Trail, Seek Help

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Volunteers with bags of garbage collected along the Saranac River in April, 2026, courtesy Gryphon Ackridge-PhillipsEight volunteers recently removed roughly 100 pounds of garbage from the Saranac River Trail in Plattsburgh from Seltzer Road to behind Clinton Dining Hall on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus.

Much of the garbage consisted of single-use plastics, beer bottles, cigarette butts, and numerous other household items. Among the garbage was a pint of bleach that was properly disposed of. The efforts focused on the shoreline, hoping to limit waste from entering the Saranac River, and eventually Lake Champlain. [Read more…] about Students Work To Clean Up Saranac River Trail, Seek Help

Environmental Conservation Police Statistics for 2023-2025

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ECOs Tompkins and Wamsley ear tag a bear before release in Suffolk County in October 2025In 2025, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Division of Law Enforcement fielded an estimated 101,169 calls.

These resulted in Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators across the state responding to more than 35,575 complaints. [Read more…] about Environmental Conservation Police Statistics for 2023-2025

New York State’s Polystyrene Foam Ban Expanding

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Fast Food Packaging Floating In a RiverNew York State’s Foam Ban (Expanded Polystyrene Foam Containers and Polystyrene Loose Fill Packaging Ban) has been in effect since January 1, 2022, and bans selling, offering for sale, and distribution of disposable food service containers and packing peanuts made with expanded polystyrene foam.

Starting January 1, 2026, New York State’s Foam Ban will be expanded to include polystyrene foam coolers and other polystyrene foam containers designed or intended to be used for cold storage. [Read more…] about New York State’s Polystyrene Foam Ban Expanding

Capped Adirondack Landfill Becoming Native Pollinator Habitat

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Signage at the planned pollinator habitat in the Town of Indian Lake, Hamilton County. Photo courtesy of Kailey Maher, AdkActionIn April 2024, AdkAction, a non-profit environmental conservation and community development organization, was awarded a grant through DEC’s Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Grant Program. AdkAction will use the grant funds to convert an eight-acre grassland located on a capped landfill to a native pollinator habitat. [Read more…] about Capped Adirondack Landfill Becoming Native Pollinator Habitat

Starting Repair Cafe Events in Your Community

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Repair Cafe Hudson Valley at Electric City Barn in SchenectadyRepair Cafes are free community gatherings where skilled volunteer “Repair Coaches” help neighbors fix broken household items. Repair initiatives divert usable items from landfills, build DIY skills, and help shift our cultural mindset to one that embraces circular economy.

To establish a repair event in your community, you’ll need: [Read more…] about Starting Repair Cafe Events in Your Community

Microplastics in Our Waters, Food, Air

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microplastics photo by Jodi Sulpizio, Penn StateMicroplastic pollution is not a new problem. However, in recent years, the public has become more aware, and scientists are studying the seriousness of the situation. Have you ever stood on a riverbank after a heavy rain and noticed how much plastic waste floats by?

Gallon milk jugs, plastic bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags, rubber balls, etc., all race downstream. Plastic, plastic, and more plastic. [Read more…] about Microplastics in Our Waters, Food, Air

Dead Horse Bay: Polluted and Disgusting, but People Can’t Stay Away

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Dead Horse Bay comic by Christine StoddardA quick glance at Instagram shows some odd hauls from Dead Horse Bay. They’re not windowpane flounder or diamondback terrapins or cockle clams local to the waters. They’re rainbows of vintage marbles, shards of heirloom ceramics, and even rusted bicycles from the era of black and white television.

Scour Reddit from the past year alone and find posts about Dead Horse Bay mudlarking — that is, scavenging the shore for interesting, possibly valuable items. [Read more…] about Dead Horse Bay: Polluted and Disgusting, but People Can’t Stay Away

The Development of Staten Island

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Map of Staten Island, ca 1900Relative to the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, Staten Island has been both water-bound and isolated. Historically, the island’s western border, the Arthur Kill channel, and its northwestern border, the Kill Van Kull, played vital roles connecting New York with New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Long Island Sound.

Staten Island rests between New York Bay and New Jersey’s northwestern shoreline, the Arthur Kill channel separating the Island from the latter. The Island’s geographical center is situated 11 miles southwest of New York City. [Read more…] about The Development of Staten Island

Nursery Company Starts Wildfire; Ticketed for Burning Garbage

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Patterson wildland fire in January 2025On Friday, January 3, 2025 at about 2:15 pm, Forest Ranger Lieutenant Yuka Ashida and Ranger Joseph Pries responded to a call about a reported wildfire behind Petersen’s Patterson Greenhouses in Patterson, Putnam County, NY. [Read more…] about Nursery Company Starts Wildfire; Ticketed for Burning Garbage

How To Plan A Halloween Pumpkin Smash Event

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Halloween pumpkin smashInstead of throwing your leftover Halloween pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns into the garbage, some local governments and community groups host pumpkin smashes or pumpkin drop-off events where residents are invited to continue the family fun by smashing and/or dropping off their pumpkins for composting or feeding farm animals. [Read more…] about How To Plan A Halloween Pumpkin Smash Event

Unlawful Dumping Charges In Montgomery County

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Illegally dumped solid waste discovered on private property in Montgomery County in June 2024On June 20, the owner of a property management company in Montgomery County accepted a plea agreement in Canajoharie Town Court for illegally dumping solid waste on private property earlier this year.

On February 6, 2024, workers with the Canajoharie Department of Public Works observed and recorded video of a dark pickup truck carrying a dump trailer filled with solid waste enter a bank-owned property off West Ames Road in Canajoharie and offload the waste at the location. [Read more…] about Unlawful Dumping Charges In Montgomery County

Trash Dumper Ticketed in Steuben County

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Household garbage dumped along a road in the town of Lindley, Steuben County in April 2024On April 12, Environmental Conservation Officer Richard McNamara received information from a New York State Police Trooper about illegally dumped household garbage on a back road in the town of Lindley in Steuben County, NY. [Read more…] about Trash Dumper Ticketed in Steuben County

Rangers Respond To Campground Fire, Ticket Loud Camper, Illegal Dumper

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A May 2024 camper fire in a Catskills campground that evolved into a small wildfireNew York State Forest Rangers were busy with law enforcement activities last weekend as they caught an illegal dumper on Long Island, ticketed a camper for playing loud music in Chenango County, and responded to a camper fire in a Catskills campground that evolved into a small wildfire. [Read more…] about Rangers Respond To Campground Fire, Ticket Loud Camper, Illegal Dumper

The New York City Chewing Gum War of 1939

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A subway car of the Independent Subway Line with a public service announcement from Doublemint GumSugar was cheap during the Great Depression. Chewing gum was an affordable treat that sold well. But New York City was paying a high price to scrape the sticky mess from the ground.

The city had recently taken over the Independent Subway Line and balked at the cost of cleaning gum from the platforms. The Mayor released a statement to the morning papers on December 4, 1939: “This may seem like a trifling matter, but it costs the City of New York literally hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to remove gum from parks, streets and public places.” [Read more…] about The New York City Chewing Gum War of 1939

Open Burning Leads to Wildfire, Tickets Across Upstate NY

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A pile of burnt household waste extinguished by local firefighters in the town of Deerpark, Orange County in March 2024New York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) recently responded to illegal burns in several counties, including Greene, Erie, Sullivan and Orange Counties leading up to and after a statewide ban on residential brush burning took effect on March 16. [Read more…] about Open Burning Leads to Wildfire, Tickets Across Upstate NY

New York State Solid Waste Management Plan Finalized

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New York State Solid Waste PlanThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has finalized the 2023-2032 New York State Solid Waste Management Plan. The New York State Solid Waste Management Plan: Building the Circular Economy through Sustainable Materials Management is a 10-year plan that describes actions to reduce the climate impact of solid waste and provides direction for New York’s waste reduction, reuse, recycling, collection, transportation, and disposal investments, policies, and practices over the next decade. [Read more…] about New York State Solid Waste Management Plan Finalized

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