“Recycling is a good thing to do. It makes people feel good to do it. The thing I want to emphasize is the vast difference between recycling for the purpose of feeling good and recycling for the purpose of solving the trash problem.”
—Barry Commoner, environmentalist
On November 12 of this year, North Shore Towers was host to a “Go Green” seminar. Sponsored by our very own Linda Rappaport of Charles H. Greenthal Property Sales in cooperation of our House and Grounds Committee chair and Board Member Claire Levitan, the exposition was designed to educate our community to the environmental and economic benefits of being more sensitive to the environment, or “going green” as it’s become known. One area where we all can participate in being more environmentally friendly is by recycling our household items, but as mentioned in the quote above, if we really want to make a difference, we need to take broader steps towards becoming a real factor in helping the environment.
With 1,844 apartments and 300 compactor rooms, it isn’t difficult to recognize that North Shore Towers creates a substantial amount of refuse and recyclable material on a daily basis, all of which must be disposed of safely and efficiently. That process begins with you, our residents, who can help us maintain a cleaner and healthier environment by following our compactor room garbage and recycling regulations.
The compactor room contains two plastic bins for recycling to be used as follows:
The tall bin is exclusively dedicated for clean bottles, clean metal cans, and clean aluminum foil pans.
The square bin is designated for newspapers, magazines and catalogs.
No boxes or bags containing even the slightest amount of food should be left on the compactor room floor or between the chute door and the flapper (the metal protection plate that hangs just behind the chute door).
Please be sure to close the compactor room door before opening the chute door and completely closing the chute door before leaving the compactor room to minimize odors from entering the hallway.
Do not leave pastry or pizza boxes, produce bags, etc. on the floor.
If you have a large quantity of garbage, divide into several bags and dispose of them down the chute.
All large cartons should be flattened before being placed against the wall in the compactor room.
No refuse of any sort may be left in the hallways or stairwells, for this is a violation of the NYC fire laws. For disposal of items that do not easily fit into the compactor room (you must leave space for access to the chute) call the concierge to have a porter come to pick it up.
An issue that I personally emphasized as part of my presentation at the “Go Green” seminar was the importance of placing your garbage in tied plastic bags before disposing of them in the compactor chute. While we encourage everyone to reduce their usage of plastic bags, this process which requires the use of plastic bags is extremely important towards maintaining the cleanliness of our buildings, thereby minimizing foul odors and reducing the possibility of insect and vermin infestation, which loose food stuff would create if it were to stick inside the compactor chute before it made its way down to the compactor. Kindly take note of this issue and take the necessary steps to ensure compliance.
In an effort to conserve energy, new compactor room lights were installed, which are activated by opening the door, rather than staying on constantly. Should you encounter a problem with the lights turning on or off, kindly contact Central Maintenance at (718) 224-9502 during regular business hours. You may also stop by or contact Central Maintenance for information regarding energy efficient light bulbs, which are offered for sale to our residents. At that time you may also wish to schedule an appointment to have your Verticon filters changed or to have an energy survey of your apartment conducted.
There are many other efforts you can make, such as limiting or eliminating the use of plastic and Styrofoam containers, using eco-friendly cleaning products in your home and using energy conserving appliances. The response to our “Go Green” seminar has been extremely positive, prompting thoughts and ideas for future events. While taking small steps to make ourselves “feel good” about going green, the combined effort of everyone towards making a real difference in our environment should be our ultimate goal. As Kermit the famous talking frog once said, it isn’t easy “being green,” but “going green” is a responsibility we all share.
On behalf of everyone at North Shore Towers and Country Club, I would like to wish everyone and their families a happy and healthy holiday season.
General Manager
