Westchester County Police Civil Service Examinations in May – Deadline To File For Tests Is Feb. 24th

Westchester County will be holding police officer civil service...

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano Endorses CE Ken Jenkins in Upcoming Special Election

On Thursday, January 30th, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano announced his...

James Henderson III Elected President Of Port Chester/Rye Branch NAACP

James Henderson, a 20-year resident of Port Chester, was...

William Wagstaff Responds To NRPD Commissioner’s Statement Regarding The Death Of Jarrel Garris

pictured above Attorney William O. Wagstaff speaking at a...

NRPD Determine Officers Did Not Violate Dept’s Policies Or Procedures In Death of Jerrel Garris

NRPD Commissioner Robert Gazzola released a statement, Friday (see...

Mount Vernon’s Opportunity to Community Revitalization Through ELOC Initiative

Mount Vernon, NY, a city currently facing significant financial...

Don’t Strain Your Drain: Mount Vernon’s Cooking Oil Recycling Campaign

Date:

Don’t Strain Your Drain is a public service campaign in Mount Vernon to collect residents’ used cooking oil at Mount Vernon Fire Stations for recycling. Mount Vernon Youth Community Outreach Program (YCOP) students who participated in the Environmental Leaders of Color (ELOC) Student Summer Energy and Environmental Program for Teens are initiating this oil collection campaign as their entry in the Bedford 2030 Greenlight Prize. 

From January 27, 2024, to March 23, 2023, residents may collect their cooking oil, and we hope to get approval for deposits at Mount Vernon fire stations. When poured down the drain, cooking oil solidifies and clog drains. Water pools in basements and yards during rainstorms when sewer drains are clogged. Water inside homes compromises the structure’s integrity and can lead to the growth of toxic mold and mildew, which is harmful to humans and pets. The cost to homeowners and municipalities for oil removal and its consequential damage can be millions. 

For three years, ELOC has offered its Student Summer Energy & Environmental Program for Teens to high school students from socially and environmentally vulnerable communities about climate change, its impact, mitigation, solutions, and workforce requirements. This past summer, students from community-based organizations in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Yonkers, Portchester, Ossining, and Peekskill learned about water and all its possibilities. At the end of the summer, a team of students from Mount Vernon YCOP won first prize for their final project, The Dangers of Pouring Cooking Oil Down the Drain. 

The students discovered that for the more than 394,000 households in Westchester County, there is only one site, Westchester County Recycling Household Material Recovery Facility, where residents may discard harmful household waste; furthermore, the site is inaccessible to residents without cars and appointments must be made before each visit. The Mount Vernon YCOP team presented their findings to the Westchester County Board of Legislature – Housing Committee and were subsequently invited to participate in the Bedford 2030 Greenlight Award Prize. 

According to Dr. Diana Williams, Acting Executive Director of ELOC and the student’s Faculty Advisor, “These brilliant students have identified a costly problem and devised a simple solution. The Don’t Strain Your Drain campaign will educate Mount Vernon residents about proper cooking oil disposal and secure accessible disposal sites at fire stations. In 2024, ELOC students will expand this program throughout Westchester County. ELOC is committed to providing our young people with the skills and tools to work together to solve environmental issues in their communities.”

AJ Woodson
AJ Woodson
AJ Woodson is the Editor-In-Chief and co-owner of Black Westchester, Host & Producer of the People Before Politics Radio Show, An Author, Journalism Fellow (Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism), Rap Artist - one third of the legendary underground rap group JVC FORCE known for the single Strong Island, Radio Personality, Hip-Hop Historian, Documentarian, Activist, Criminal Justice Advocate and Freelance Journalist whose byline has appeared in several print publications and online sites including The Source, Vibe, the Village Voice, Upscale, Sonicnet.com, Launch.com, Rolling Out Newspaper, Daily Challenge Newspaper, Spiritual Minded Magazine, Word Up! Magazine, On The Go Magazine and several others. Follow me at Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/mrajwoodson.bsky.social and Spoutible https://spoutible.com/MrAJWoodson

Share post:

BW ADS

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
spot_imgspot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Black 2 Business

Don’t Strain Your Drain is a public service campaign in Mount Vernon to collect residents’ used cooking oil at Mount Vernon Fire Stations for recycling. Mount Vernon Youth Community Outreach Program (YCOP) students who participated in the Environmental Leaders of Color (ELOC) Student Summer Energy and Environmental Program for Teens are initiating this oil collection campaign as their entry in the Bedford 2030 Greenlight Prize. 

From January 27, 2024, to March 23, 2023, residents may collect their cooking oil, and we hope to get approval for deposits at Mount Vernon fire stations. When poured down the drain, cooking oil solidifies and clog drains. Water pools in basements and yards during rainstorms when sewer drains are clogged. Water inside homes compromises the structure’s integrity and can lead to the growth of toxic mold and mildew, which is harmful to humans and pets. The cost to homeowners and municipalities for oil removal and its consequential damage can be millions. 

For three years, ELOC has offered its Student Summer Energy & Environmental Program for Teens to high school students from socially and environmentally vulnerable communities about climate change, its impact, mitigation, solutions, and workforce requirements. This past summer, students from community-based organizations in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Yonkers, Portchester, Ossining, and Peekskill learned about water and all its possibilities. At the end of the summer, a team of students from Mount Vernon YCOP won first prize for their final project, The Dangers of Pouring Cooking Oil Down the Drain. 

The students discovered that for the more than 394,000 households in Westchester County, there is only one site, Westchester County Recycling Household Material Recovery Facility, where residents may discard harmful household waste; furthermore, the site is inaccessible to residents without cars and appointments must be made before each visit. The Mount Vernon YCOP team presented their findings to the Westchester County Board of Legislature – Housing Committee and were subsequently invited to participate in the Bedford 2030 Greenlight Award Prize. 

According to Dr. Diana Williams, Acting Executive Director of ELOC and the student’s Faculty Advisor, “These brilliant students have identified a costly problem and devised a simple solution. The Don’t Strain Your Drain campaign will educate Mount Vernon residents about proper cooking oil disposal and secure accessible disposal sites at fire stations. In 2024, ELOC students will expand this program throughout Westchester County. ELOC is committed to providing our young people with the skills and tools to work together to solve environmental issues in their communities.”

AJ Woodson
AJ Woodson
AJ Woodson is the Editor-In-Chief and co-owner of Black Westchester, Host & Producer of the People Before Politics Radio Show, An Author, Journalism Fellow (Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism), Rap Artist - one third of the legendary underground rap group JVC FORCE known for the single Strong Island, Radio Personality, Hip-Hop Historian, Documentarian, Activist, Criminal Justice Advocate and Freelance Journalist whose byline has appeared in several print publications and online sites including The Source, Vibe, the Village Voice, Upscale, Sonicnet.com, Launch.com, Rolling Out Newspaper, Daily Challenge Newspaper, Spiritual Minded Magazine, Word Up! Magazine, On The Go Magazine and several others. Follow me at Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/mrajwoodson.bsky.social and Spoutible https://spoutible.com/MrAJWoodson

Subscribe

Latest Posts

More like this
Related

President Trump’s Tax Cuts: What Do They Mean for Black America?

Former President Donald Trump has unveiled a new tax...

The War on Drugs: Fifty Years Later

The War on Drugs was introduced to us by...

The Urgency of Teaching Black Children Emotional Intelligence and Stress Management

In a world where Black children must navigate unique...

Our Kitchen is Our Medicine Cabinet: The Case for Culinary Medicine in Black Culture

In Black culture, the kitchen has always been more...