Director James Zecca, left, praised Ray Lewandowski, former Executive Director of the ARC of Madison Cortland who retired in 2013 for his leadership in the field of developmental disabilities locally and nationally. It was under Ray’s leadership that Alternatives Recycling Center opened 25 years ago with the purpose of providing jobs for people with and without disabilities in Madison County. (Photo by Sharon A. Driscoll)
(Town of Lincoln, NY – June 29, 2015) The Alternatives Recycling Center, which opened in July 1990 in accordance with a partnership formed between The Arc Madison Cortland and Madison County, is celebrating 25 years of recycling in 2015.
Local residents and elected officials gathered at the center on Buyea Road in the town of Lincoln on Friday June 26 at 1 p.m. to celebrate the occasion.
Tours of the Recycling Center and renewable energy initiatives at the Madison County Landfill followed presentations and refreshments.
The celebration honored five employees and officials that have been integral to the development and operation of the center for the past 25 years. Honorees include James Rafte, longtime member of the Madison County Board of Supervisors and Solid Waste and Recycling Committee member; Raymond Lewandowski, former Executive Director of The Arc Madison Cortland; Ken Stone, ARE Recycling Center Manager; Jeffrey Campanaro and Richard Smith; both recycling center employees were honored for 25 years of dedicated service.
The Alternatives Recycling Center was constructed as a result of the Solid Waste Act of 1989, which made recycling a law in New York State. Each year, the award-winning center recycles more than 6,000 tons of paper, glass, metal and textile recyclables from all over Madison County. The recycling center also accepts agricultural plastics, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, plastic bags, textiles and many other recyclable items.
Over the years, the recycling center has been the recipient of Environmental Achievement and quality awards.
“Madison County was one of the first counties in the state to develop a comprehensive recycling plan,” said James A. Zecca, Director of the Department of Solid Waste and Sanitation. “We are continually striving to improve our recycling programs and to add items to our list of recyclables. Since recycling began here in 1990, Madison County has recycled over 440 million pounds of material that is not taking up room in our landfill. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the citizens of Madison County for their help and cooperation throughout the past 25 years. We could not have achieved this high level of success without their steadfast help.”
Ray Lewandowski
After 40 years of dedicated service, Ray Lewandowski, Executive Director of The Arc of Madison Cortland retired in 2013. Ray was a leader in the field of developmental disabilities locally and nationally.
His career started during the time when people with developmental disabilities were socially isolated and many placed in institutions.
Lewandowski fought for the rights and dignity of all people. He is extremely proud to be a part of the movement that fought to close institutions. Under his leadership, The Arc of Madison Cortland, that started out in the basement of a church grew to be a multi-million dollar agency serving two counties, Madison and Cortland, and providing support and services to more than 1,000 people with disabilities and their families.
It was under Lewandowski’s leadership that Alternatives Recycling Center opened 25 years ago with the purpose of providing jobs for people with and without disabilities in the county.
James V. Rafte, center, was honored June 26 for 48 years of service to Madison County during the ARC Recycling Centers 25th Anniversary Celebration. Rafte received a joint proclamation from the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly that was presented by Assembly Bill Magee. Rafte also received a Proclamation from the Madison County Board of Supervisors. Chairman of the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee James Goldstein (right) congratulates Rafte and explains that the Education/Scale House and Solar Power Station have been named for him. Former City of Oneida Supervisor Michel J. DeBottis Esq. (left) joins in to congratulating Rafte. (Photo by Sharon A. Driscoll).
James V. Rafte
James V. Rafte, city of Oneida Supervisor for Wards 4, 5 and 6 since 1962 was honored June 26 for 48 years of exemplary service to Madison County, the city of Oneida and the Madison County Board of Supervisors.
Rafte’s contributions to Madison County and the city of Oneida are too numerous to list but the following is a brief of some of the projects he contributed to and his 2015 Committee Assignments.
He is currently serving on the Administration and Oversight committee, the Planning, Economic Development, Environmental & Intergovernmental Affairs committee, the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee and the Native American Affairs committee. He has served on the committees listed here and many other throughout his 48 years of service to Madison County.
Rafte was a dedicated member to the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board attending monthly meetings in Syracuse.
In his early years he saw the municipal government grow from scattered services throughout the county to one modern campus in Wampsville. He oversaw the construction of the county jail, administrative building, the Dept. of Social Services and the Solid Waste Dept. campus.
He was instrumental in establishing the Madison County Industrial Development Agency (IDA), a consolidated agency to support and encourage business development in Madison County. In June of 2007 he saw the IDA move into the current location; a modern facility on Route 5 in Canastota.
As a member of the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee Rafte oversaw the development of innovative programs such as the creation of the Materials Recycling Facility, a manual sort facility (MRF) in partnership with the Madison-Cortland ARC, the establishment of a 100 year plan for the solid waste landfill that was approved by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for disposal of the County’s solid waste.
Rafte assisted with the implementation of the current Gas-to-Energy facility that effectively makes use of environmentally harmful methane gas to generate electricity and thermal energy.
In his private life he was a leader of office services at Oneida Limited as they entered the computer age and developed a world renowned outlet for silver; drawing countless tourists into Madison and Oneida Counties. He was named a Champion of Tourism in 2006.
Pictured from left, Jeffrey Campanaro and Richard Smith received Certificates of Appreciation for 25 years of dedicated service and were congratulated by Assemblyman Bill Magee (center) during the 25th ARC Recycling Center Celebration on June 26. Ken Stone (right), manager of the ARC Recycling Center, plans to retire at the end of 2015. Stone received a Certificate of Appreciation for 21 years of outstanding leadership and dedication. (Photo by Sharon A. Driscoll).
Ken Stone
Ken Stone a long time employee of the Arc of Madison Cortland recently announced his plans to retire at the end of 2015. Stone started working for the ARC in 1994 as the manager of the ARC MRF (recycling center) at the Madison County Landfill on Buyea Road in the town of Lincoln.
When Stone began his tenure at the recycling center he was overseeing 24 full and part-time employees. The staff has been pared down to 18. He said not too many big changes have transpired during the past 21 years with the exception of the way paper and cardboard are sorted and sent to market and the addition of agricultural plastics and the voluntary collection of pots and pans that are being combined with other scrap metal and sent to market.
In the 90s newspaper and corrugated cardboard were bailed separately. In 2003 all of the paper and corrugated cardboard began to be comingled, bailed and sent to market; Rock-Tenn in Syracuse. Unlike some of the neighboring counties, Madison County’s recycling center operates a manual sorting operation rather than single stream.
The other major change at the recycling center involved the collection and bailing of agriculture plastic in 2014. Prior to this pilot project for the collection of AG plastic farmers only recourse for disposal was to bury or burn the plastic.
“Neither of those options presents a viable solution,” said Director James Zecca.
The Department of Solid Waste is pursuing several different companies that have found a way to “crack the code” so to speak; turning plastic back in to oil or diesel fuel. If one of these companies chooses to locate in the landfill’s proposed ARE Park (Business Park) they could become a regional collection site for AG and other hard to recycle plastic, Zecca said.
“Currently, we are stockpiling the bailed AG plastic at the ARC Recycling Center,” said Stone.
Every year approximately 1,500 to 2,000 students and adults tour the Buyea Road campus and recycling center. The tours are conducted by the Recycling Coordinator with the exception of the ARC Recycling Center; these tours are conducted by Stone.
He said that he will probably be training someone to take over his position in the fall.
Following his retirement Stone said he and his wife would like to spend the winter in Florida and hope to spend more time with his grandchildren who are three and five.
For more than four decades, The Arc of Madison Cortland has been providing services to people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities in Madison and Cortland counties. The Arc of Madison Cortland is committed to helping people with disabilities and their families by providing quality services.