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Office of Recycling Outreach and Education

Welcome to the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE). We help New Yorkers understand what, when and how to recycle, and we work with residential buildings to create their own recycling plans.

OROE was created in 2006 by the New York City Council, when it passed Mayor Bloomberg's landmark Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP). OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of NYC, a privately funded citizens organization in the Mayor's Office.

The office has been operating since December 2006, when director David Hurd came onboard. We have been fully staffed and operational since February 2007, when we hired a recycling outreach coordinator for each borough. In March the coordinators began their Community District outreach initiatives. It should also be noted that the OROE office was furnished exclusively with recycled furniture obtained through NYWasteMatch, a program funded by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY).

OROE staff will work with DSNY and other City agencies to increase HOUSEHOLD recycling and promote waste reduction, reuse and composting. The office's primary focus will be to train and educate building workers and occupants on the methods, requirements and importance of recycling, including conducting building-specific waste audits. OROE staff will also partner with DSNY and other organizations to develop electronic recycling programs, waste reduction targets, hazardous waste reduction efforts and recycling in parks, schools, and public housing projects.

A full description of the OROE Work Plan is available using the pull-down menu, along with contact information for our five borough-specific Recycling Outreach Coordinators.

Please come back and visit this site often, as it will provide timely information on new recycling initiatives that OROE develops. Thank you for your interest in recycling and the New York City environment.