RECYCLING: Successful and Cost-Effective
As part
of his executive budget for 2003, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed slashing
the city's recycling program in half by suspending the collection
of metal, glass and plastic materials for at least 18 months, starting
July 1st, 2002. He also wants to eliminate the city's waste prevention
initiatives and composting programs. Only the more profitable paper
recycling program would continue. According to the Mayor, these cuts
would save the city $56 million next year. While this number may sound
high, in fact it is only 5% of the Sanitation Department budget and
1% of the city's overall budget deficit.
Here
are just a few reasons why the City Council must reject the Mayor's
proposal and restore full funding for recycling in the 2003 budget:
•
Recycling helps the environment. Recycling, waste prevention
and composting conserve natural resources and are the most environmentally
sound approach to waste management. Recycling is also required both
by city and state law.
•
Recycling reduces the amount of garbage we export. With the
closure of Fresh Kills landfill last year, the City now exports all
of its garbage, with the exception of recyclables, mostly to out-of-state
landfills as far away as Virginia and Ohio. Currently the city exports
11,000 tons per day of residential garbage, and diverts 2,400 tons
per day through recycling. If these programs are canceled, the City
will have to send 10-20% more waste to landfills and incinerators.
•
Recycling will save the City money in the long run. The cost
of exporting trash has increased steadily over the past five years
and is expected to continue to rise. If the recycling and waste prevention
programs are discontinued, the city will be even more vulnerable to
price hikes by a handful of large waste companies that dominate the
market and changes in laws governing interstate transport of garbage.
•
Recycling programs must be continuously maintained. The city's
recycling program cannot be turned on and off without significantly
impacting public participation. It has taken many years and millions
of dollars to get City residents recycling up to the current 20% level.
To restart the program would require a massive investment to reeducate
New Yorkers and restore public confidence in the program. Already,
since the Mayor's announcement, recycling rates have gone down!
•
The recycling program should be fixed, not scrapped. The Department
of Sanitation has never properly invested in the City's recycling
program. Pro-recycling groups have proposed numerous ways to make
the recycling program more effective and less costly, including more
efficient collection systems, encouraging remanufacturing facilities,
and investment in state-of-the-art recycling processing centers. These
changes can and should be made without interrupting the current recycling
program.
FACT SHEETS:
Recycling
Incineration
The Bottle Bill
Waste Prevention
