FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 2016
MEDIA CONTACTS: Carole Trottere, Rebecca Cheng, Sam Marksheid, and Vicki DiStefano | (516) 869-7794
North Hempstead Collects and Recycles Old Monofilament Fishing Line
Used line is repurposed into fish habitats and other products at no cost!
North Hempstead, NY – Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Chief Sustainability Officer Erin Reilley and Chief Bay Constable Mal Nathan recently announced that throughout the past year the Town has collected over 12 cubic feet (enough to fill about two large trash bags) of monofilament fishing line from receptacles located in six Town parks. The fishing line receptacle initiative was instituted last year and received the Environmental Champion award by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 for helping to reduce plastics in the waterways.
“The addition of these fishing line receptacles to our Town parks has been a true success,” said Supervisor Bosworth. “Not only are we able to protect birds and other marine creatures from becoming entangled in the fishing line, but we are also helping to reduce the amount of garbage and plastic in our waterways. It is a win-win for everyone.”
All of the fishing line that has been collected will be sent to Berkley Fishing, a company in Iowa that has a program to repurpose the old monofilament into other products or into fish habitat structures. There is no charge for the recycling of the fishing line, according to Chief Sustainability Officer Reilley.
To view an instructional video on how to make a fishing line receptacle and for free downloadable sticker templates, go to www.northhempsteadny.gov/fishingline.
For more information about the Town’s environmental programs please call 311 or 516-869-6311.
Serving over 222,000 people, the Town of North Hempstead’s governing body is headed by the Town Supervisor, Judi Bosworth and six Town Board members: Viviana L. Russell, Peter J. Zuckerman, Angelo P. Ferrara, Anna M. Kaplan, Lee R. Seeman and Dina M. De Giorgio. The Town Clerk is Wayne Wink and the Receiver of Taxes is Charles Berman.
Have you tuned into North Hempstead TV lately? View all of our great programming on Channels 18 or 63 on Cablevision or Channel 46 on Verizon, or visit www.myNHTV.com or www.youtube.com/townofnorthhempstead.
(Left to Right): Chief Sustainability Officer Erin Reilley, North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, and Chief Bay Constable Mal Nathan with the monofilament fishing line that was collected through the Town’s collection receptacles.
This monofilament fishing line that was collected will be sent to a company in Iowa which will repurpose it into fish habitats at no charge.