Inspiring Youth to Protect their Environment

The Long Island Pine Barrens society has been a leader in the effort to restore our water quality. We have partnered with scientists, public officials, community members, and a variety of other stakeholders to work to implement the solutions necessary to improve the quality of our water and our marine environment. Since Long Island’s aquifer system is our only source of drinking water, it is essential to minimize chemical contaminants that may seep into it. Thus, the operation/closure of the Brookhaven landfill is of great concern as it is currently, and will continue to be for many years, a source of airborne chemical contaminants. The closure of the landfill, if improperly managed, will increase this problem and will likely exacerbate illegal dumping.

Inspiring Youth to Protect their Environment is a new program, funded by the Unitarian Universalist Fund, in which the Pine Barrens Society applies the inquiry-based model its other programs are known for to create a curriculum for 6th grade students in the districts surrounding the landfill. This curriculum allows students to study how contaminants that result from the landfill operation, its upcoming closure and any resulting dumping will affect and are currently affecting their community. Students will acquire and hone advocacy skills as they develop and present their projects to school staff, LI Pine Barrens Society staff, scientists and local decision makers.

Educating the public as to the necessity and value of these efforts will increase the likelihood of our success. The Long Island ecosystem, including the Long Island Sound, the ocean bays and the Atlantic Ocean itself, will be the beneficiary of improved water quality, which will, by extension, improve the lives of Long Islanders and Long Island economies.

Click the image below to read the DEC’s 2019 Fact Sheet about the Brookhaven Landfill:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

It’s an old cliché, but with good reason. Per the DEC, the average New Yorker throws out 4.5 pounds of garbage every day!1 Multiply that by 365 days, and you find that the average person is throwing out more than 2,500 pounds of waste each year. It should thus come as no surprise that the Brookhaven Landfill is nearing capacity. While there are many contributors to this problem, reducing the amount of waste one generates can help reduce the strain on the landfill, and ensure a more sustainable future.

Waste reduction is perhaps the most immediately understandable of the three terms listed above. If less stuff is thrown away, then there’s less waste that’s sent to the landfill, and thus fewer contaminants that can leach into the groundwater. Opting for reusable items, rather than disposable ones, can help with this. Initiatives like Suffolk County’s five-cent “bag tax” are designed to encourage residents to do just that, but there’s no need to wait for an additional incentive to cut down on waste! Washable metal straws can replace plastic ones, drinking water from a filter that attaches to a sink can replace bottled water, and so on. These replacements not only reduce the waste you generate, but will also save you money!

When it comes to the “Reuse” of solid goods, there are two different ways to look at things. On the one hand, you can reuse “disposable” products that can withstand multiple uses. Tinfoil covering a baking tray might just have a few crumbs on it. Instead of throwing that sheet out, you can shake off the crumbs and use it again. On the other hand, you can allow others to use things you no longer need. Whether that be old clothes that no longer fit, old toys that the kids have grown out of, or old DVDs you have no interest in rewatching, there’s no reason to throw these things out! Instead, you can donate them to any of Long Island’s numerous thrift stores or charities. New York State has a convenient map of reuse locations, which you can find here!

As for the last of the three Rs, recycling is both the simplest and most complex. While you may be accustomed to returning plastic bottles to the machines at the supermarket, or perhaps even bringing down to the curb a can of recyclables (either plastic or paper) every week, there are many more ways to recycle old stuff. And, there are many more things that can be recycled than you might think. New York State offers a “Recyclopedia” that provides up-to-date information on the best ways to dispose of everything from dead batteries to old couches! Whatever can’t be recycled can often be reused, and if not there are often ways to reduce the waste generated.

How much of the stuff in that giant pile needed to be there?
Photo Credit: Dr. David Tonjes

Additional Resources:


Cover Image Credit: Dr. David Tonjes, Stony Brook University

Sources:

  1. https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/recycling-composting