*Tiffin example shown here may not represent the Tiffin style used in this project*
Press Release: Ulster County Tiffin Project
March 13 2024
The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) has been selected as one of twelve recipients of the 2023-2024 Community Grants Program as part of the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute’s (NYSP2I) ongoing efforts to improve the health and environmental quality of New York State. Each year, NYSP2I awards funding to support projects that raise awareness and understanding and lead to the implementation of pollution prevention practices and/or behaviors at the local level with the goal of improving the health, environmental quality, and economic vitality of communities in New York State. Pollution prevention is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream.
UCRRA’s Recycling Outreach Team will launch a county-wide community engagement campaign, the “Ulster County Tiffin Project” to increase community awareness about the impact of waste reduction and reuse as pollution prevention strategies. The project addresses pollution prevention by providing residents with reusable, stainless steel Tiffin containers that eliminate their single-use, disposable counterparts that are often a source of litter and are sometimes made from toxic materials.
Tiffins are multi-tiered, reusable, metal food containers that replace wasteful, nonrecyclable to-go containers when dining out. Participants in the Tiffin Project will receive a FREE Tiffin container!
The project will feature a series of public workshops in July, to coincide with Plastic-Free-July, where participants will learn about the amount of single use disposable packaging waste generated from food service industries, the environmental harms associated with this single use packaging, the type of food service packaging that is most likely to become litter in the environment, potential harm of PFAS in food packaging, and the environmental benefits of reusable alternatives. After each workshop, participants will complete a brief survey and receive their free Tiffin so they can put their new knowledge to work in adapting more environmentally-sustainable behaviors when dining on-the-go.
In addition to the direct (in person) education, the project will also include indirect outreach such as a social media campaign, a print/digital advertising campaign, and a new webpage on the UCRRA website, where additional resources and information shall be posted and archived.
*Tiffin example shown here may not represent the Tiffin style used in this project*
“We believe that this project provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the toxins in single-use food packaging and plastic pollution, while also empowering residents to make the impactful choice of bringing their own container on-the-go!” – Tanesia White, Recycling Educator at UCRRA
The project supporters include: New Paltz Climate Smart Task Force, New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, Climate Smart Gardiner, Climate Smart Kingston, Shandaken Conservation Advisory Council, Shandaken Climate Smart Task Force, Citizens Concerned About Plastic Pollution, Climate Smart Saugerties, Saugerties Public Library, and Saugerties Farmers Market.
UCRRA acknowledges that in 2022, the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition and New Paltz Climate Smart Task Force launched a Tiffin Project to encourage local residents to bring their own reusable containers to restaurants. The Coalition also created a M.A.P. which stands for “My Plastic Alternatives” – an interactive web-based map to find local businesses that are Tiffin-friendly, meaning they allow patrons to bring their own containers. This existing resource, “My Plastic Alternatives M.A.P.” will be updated with any new local businesses who allow patrons to bring their own reusable take-out containers. The Ulster County Tiffin project seeks to replicate the New Paltz Tiffin Project, acknowledging their accomplishments and success, and expanding outreach and distribution of Tiffins to more communities, along with our many community partners!
“We feel that this is a unique opportunity to refine some of our outreach approaches to fully align with our values that source reduction and reuse is always more favorable than recycling. This is a critical time for everyone to act on the very serious issues of plastic pollution. And even these small, most basic acts, like bringing your own reusable container, can truly make a huge difference. ” – Angelina Brandt, Director of Sustainability at UCRRA
*Tiffin example shown here may not represent the Tiffin style used in this project*
The Tiffin Project addresses a relevant need for UCRRA, indirectly adding benefits of an improved recycling system free of clamshell packaging which is considered contamination. “Clamshell” packaging refers to two molded plastic halves joined together by a hinge, such as Take Out food containers. In the recycling industry, clamshell packaging is also called “Thermoforms.” Thermoforming is a molding technique that can apply to a variety of different plastics, but it may also render that object unrecyclable. In Ulster County, clamshell-style containers are widely considered not recyclable. When non recyclable plastics are discarded, it wastes resources and creates pollution that can be avoided with reuse. While the Project does not focus on recycling, it emphasizes source reduction thereby adding benefits to the greater County recycling system because Tiffins can replace clamshells when dining on-the-go.
More information about the project and sign-up for these classes will become available on the Agency’s website in the coming months. Check back for more updates!
The ULSTER COUNTY TIFFIN PROJECT is a community engagement project by the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, celebrating Plastic Free July and the many ways we can prevent pollution by reducing single use plastic. The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) is sponsored by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation through the Environmental Protection Fund and led by the Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Funding provided by the Environmental Protection Fund as administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Any opinions, findings, and/or interpretations of data contained herein are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions, interpretations, or policy of Rochester Institute of Technology and its NYS Pollution Prevention Institute or the State.
