NYPIRG has a long history of involvement in solid waste issues, from
our role in the successful campaign to pass New York's first Bottle
Bill back in 1982, to the fights to shut down the Fresh Kills Landfill
(the nation's largest garbage dump) and to block the proposed Brooklyn
Navy Yard garbage incinerator, which would have exacerbated New York's
already poor air quality. In addition to advocating waste reduction
and recycling, NYPIRG has promoted government procurement policies favoring
purchase of recycled materials, watchdogged the implementation of state
and local solid waste management laws, and campaigned to recapture unclaimed
bottle deposits to fund environmental programs. But in the spring of
2002, beginning with Mayor Bloomberg's proposal (link) to cut New York
City's recycling program in half, virtually all of the progress we have
made to improve New York's solid waste management policies have come
under attack.
MAYOR BLOOMBERG'S PROPOSAL
In an effort to plug the huge budget deficit projected over the next
few years, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced in February that he
wants to suspend New York City's curbside
recycling program for metal, glass, and plastic (MGP) for 18 months,
starting July 1st, 2002. The more profitable paper recycling program
would continue. Mayor Bloomberg projects that this will save the City
$56.6 million annually. Citing that 40% of the MGP collected ultimately
ends up in the trash rather than recycled, the Mayor stated: "we
have two recycling programs: one that works and one that doesn't."
In addition to suspending the curbside collection for MGP, the Mayor's
proposal would eliminate funding for a three-year waste
prevention initiative, and would scrap other city curbside collection
programs, such as yard waste composting and Christmas tree collection.
Mayor Bloomberg also said he intends to call on the State Legislature
to repeal the Bottle Bill and instead
institute a 5-cent tax on beverage containers. The Mayor said that
revenue generated through this program (estimated at more than $50
million a year) could be used to fund future recycling activities.
However, this revenue is not included in the Mayor's proposed budget,
nor is repeal of the Bottle Bill part
of his current state legislative agenda.
More recently, Mayor Bloomberg announced that his Administration
is seriously considering garbage incineration (a.k.a. "waste-to-energy")
as part of the City's long term strategy to manage its trash. This
news came as a surprise to the scores of community activists and organizations
who thought they had won a decisive victory for clean air when the
proposed Brooklyn Navy Yard Incinerator was defeated in 1996.
NYPIRG's RESPONSE TO MAYOR BLOOMBERG'S PROPOSALS
The Mayor's proposal to suspend metal, glass and plastic recycling
runs counter to city and state laws and policies. The New York City
Recycling Law requires the city to collect and recycle residential
paper, glass, metal, plastic and other materials. In addition, the
State Solid Waste Management Act requires New York's municipalities
to ensure that garbage is separated into "recyclable, reusable
or other components for which economic markets for alternate uses
exist."
NYPIRG is calling on New York's public officials to take the following
actions:
1) Invest in waste prevention.
Waste reduction is the state's preferred approach to solid waste management.
Waste prevention is not only the most socially responsible and environmentally
sound approach to our garbage problem, it is also the most economical.
By some estimates, a 10% reduction in the City's waste would save
the City over $20 million. Funding for waste prevention should be
restored in the City budget.
2) Fix New York's recycling program,
don't scrap it. There is no question that the city's curbside
collection program must be made more effective and cost-efficient.
But these problems can and should be worked out without suspending
the program. Recycling programs must
be consistently maintained in order to ensure public participation.
An 18-month interruption of this service could set the program back
years in terms of public education.
Recycling is not only good environmental
policy, it is also sound fiscal policy. New York City has already
invested millions in developing the infrastructure and public education
components for its recycling efforts. With the closure of Fresh Kills
Landfill last year, the city exports all of its trash, mostly to out-of-state
landfills. If the MGP recycling program is suspended, New York will
have to pay to export more than 400,000 additional tons of waste per
year, making the city that much more vulnerable to sudden increases
in disposal costs or changes in the regulatory climate in host states.
Funding for recycling should be restored in the City budget, and the
Mayor should work with the City Council and recycling advocates to
improve the program.
3) Strengthen the Bottle Bill.
The Bottle Bill has been exceptionally
successful in reducing the amount of litter and broken glass in city
streets and parks, and has reclaimed billions of bottles and cans
for recycling -- at no cost to municipalities. It has also provided
a livelihood to scores of bottle redeemers in New York City. The purpose
of the container deposit is to create an economic incentive for the
collection and return of these containers. MayorNYPIRG is urging the
State Legislature to reject proposals to replace the Bottle Bill deposit
system with a tax. Instead, we are pushing them to expand the Bottle
Bill to include non-carbonated beverage containers not envisioned
when the law was enacted twenty years ago, such as iced tea and bottled
water; and require that unclaimed nickel deposits be returned to the
government to fund recycling. According to the most conservative figures,
in 2000 there were more than $40 million in unclaimed deposits originating
in New York City alone; other estimates range as high as $107 million.
This money would go a long way toward funding and improving New York's
recycling program.
4) Reject proposals to incinerate garbage. Incinerators
(a.k.a. "waste to energy" facilities) spew out dangerous
toxics like lead, mercury and dioxin into the air we breathe, as well
as pollutants that can trigger asthma. They also create a new waste
disposal problem in the form of toxic ash. And burning garbage is
far more expensive than either recycling or state-of-the-art landfills.
Trash incineration is a failed idea of the past, and should not be
part of the City's long-term solid waste management strategy.
FACT SHEETS:
Recycling
Incineration
The Bottle Bill
Waste Prevention
