[GreenYes] MGP processing costs in NYC

["Steve Hammer" <shammer@wastesaver.com>]

A City Council staffperson asked me to comment on some of the numbers used
by Mayor Bloomberg to justify the suspension of the metal/glass/plastic
(MGP) recycling program in New York City.

I thought I would throw this out for comments by people familiar with the
cost of processing commingled MGP.  Note that materials are collected from
labeled containers or blue bags set out by city residents.

-- Total MGP tons collected per year = 300,000
-- Projected cost of collecting MGP by NYC Dept of Sanitation = $119/ton
-- Projected cost of processing MGP by private vendors = $120/ton (includes
disposal of residue).  Price is based on recent responses to RFP, which are
much higher than the old price of $45/ton

Breakdown of materials (by weight) (based on 1999 audit by NYC Comptrollers
office)
Metal = 25%
Glass = 38%
Plastic = 6%
Milk/Juice (asceptic) = less than 0.1%
Residue = 31%
(note:  this residue rate is lower than the 40% rate quoted by the Mayor in
his budget address)

Can anyone quote me comparable processing costs for their (preferably large,
urban) municipality?

Thanks very much for your assistance.


Steve Hammer
(w) 212-645-9912
shammer@wastesaver.com



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