City Adds Hybrid Patrol Cars
County Adds Hybrid Buses

Recycling in Greater Binghamton (Broome County): 03/2009

In 1985, the Greater Binghamton, NY area (Broome County) decided to become an environmental advocate and a leader in protecting and preserving our community and environment. It was at that time that Broome County instituted a county wide recycling program; one of the first in the United States.

At that early time, terms such as recycling, sustainability, green cities, eco-assessment and others were not widely used or even heard of. However, there was a growing problem that necessitated a new way of thinking. At issue was a landfill with a limited number of years remaining and a future environmental concerns.

Those early years of recycling started with newspapers and glass jars. As the years progressed, so did the addition of items collected for recycling.

In 2002, Broome County continued improving its recycling program by becoming the first county in New York State to switch to a single stream recycling program. What this meant for residents was that their curb side recycling no longer had to be sorted. Now, all items put to the curb for recycling could be placed in one container.

As one of the few counties in New York State that has a year round household hazardous waste (HHW) program, residents can also dispose of other items not collected at curb side.

Located at the Broome County Landfill, the HHW facility also collects: paints, tarnish, pool chemicals, cleaning supplies, pesticides, and electronics such as TV's, monitors, CPU's, fax machines, printers, stereos ,cell phones and radios. Certain recyclable items such as household batteries and printer ink are also collected at local stores and businesses throughout the area.

In addition to the county recycling program, the Broome County Landfill collects and converts gas generated by the decomposition of waste into electricity. Since the station went on line 5 years ago, it has collected and diverted an estimated 74,266 tons of carbon equivalent per year. In essence, this is the equivalent to the CO2 emissions from:

• 45,244 cars.
• 574,498 barrels of consumed oil.
• electricity for 32,720 homes for a year.
• carbon sequestered by 6,334,212 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.
• CO2 emissions from 10,293,094 home BBQ propane cylinders.

As the recycling program shows, Broome County and its residents clearly understand the importance of being a green, sustainable community. But efforts do not stop with recycling waste.

In 2009, high atop the Broome County Office Building now sits a solar panel system. This new SunMaxx solar panel system heats the buildings hot water and has eliminated the need to heat water by natural gas. At a cost of $8000, the panel is expected to save the county over $1600 per year.

Broome County Government has also been a leader in recycling and repurposing older buildings and in late 2007 began major renovations to one if its older buildings located in downtown Binghamton.

Before demolition could begin marble floors, windows, handrails, historic pieces and much more were removed to be reused in the reconstruction.

After salvaging any part of the interior at the George Harvey Justice Building that could be reused or repurposed, the entire interior of the building was removed to renovate the building to accommodate new requirements and technology. The seventh floor (top floor) of the building was even raised by 6 feet.

At present, Broome County continues to look at various ways of becoming more green including:

• conducting energy audits to improve lighting and other electrical usage in county buildings.
• a more energy efficient vehicle fleet.
• the use of wind power for electricity at the county jail.
• a carpooling web site.
• an energy efficiency loan program for homeowners.

While the green movement is becoming more popular in the private sector, one of the more recent proposals is for a compost manufacturing facility to be located in the Kirkwood Industrial Park. This facility would remove additional waste from the county landfill by collecting and composting yard and food waste.

Thinking green is even gaining momentum with joint building ventures.

In January of this year, a proposed facility between between the Harpursville School District, Town of Colesville and The Town of Colesville Fire Department is being reviewed. The facility would house the school bus garage, town highway department and one of the town's fire departments. It would also be used for an emergency shelter.

Broome County has taken a leadership role in ecological, economic and even the social needs of its community and continues its efforts to build a strong sustainable community through working with its residents, businesses and neighboring communities to provide a safe, clean and healthy place to live and work.

Broome County .... Looking to the future.

City of Binghamton to try Hybrid Police Cars: 04/2009

In effort to further green the city, and with the constant threat of rising oil prices, the city of Binghamton will soon have three hybrid patrol cars running city streets.

The three 2009 Nissan Altima hybrids will begin to replace aging Ford Crown Victorias. Officers will test the vehicles to see if they are up to the requirements of everyday police work and road conditions in Binghamton. If the vehicles meet the requirements, more are expected to be purchased.

The Crown Victorias get about 8 to 12 miles per gallon while the Altimas get an estimated 35 miles per gallon.

County adds Hybird Buses to Fleet: 04/2009

In late April, Broome County added six high-tech, full size hybrid buses to its fleet of 44 buses. Replacing existing and aged diesel buses, the new hybrids are a welcome addition. An added plus with the purchase is that the power systems for the buses are manufactured right here in our own community by BAE Systems in the Westover area of Johnson City.

The hybrids last longer (stainless steel chassis), emit less pollution and can save over 30% in fuel costs. They also offer more reliability and a better ride. Hybrids combine electric propulsion with a conventional diesel motor.

While demand for the hybrid buses is currently very high, Broome County is hoping to purchase several more in the near future at a cost of about $550,000 each..