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Solid Waste Project

Every day, New Yorkers generate more than 50,000 tons of household waste. Of this amount, only 20% is recycled — the rest is buried, burned, or shipped out of state. NYPIRG is urging state and local governments to increase their commitment to waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting, and to steer clear of environmentally hazardous practices such as garbage incineration and landfilling.

Over the past 30 years, NYPIRG has been instrumental in creating and expanding New York’s bottle bill and spurring numerous state and local recycling laws. In the 1990s, NYPIRG played a leading role in shutting down the leaking Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island and blocking a giant garbage incinerator proposed for the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation is currently updating the state’s Solid Waste Management Plan for the first time in over a decade. NYPIRG and other groups are advocating a Zero Waste Platform for New York.