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[GreenYes] RE: NYC Recycling?


THANK YOU ALL! for your replies and for your work.

After reading this another time I think I understand it better. I really
think that there still needs to be education and inspiration with the
public to quell this idea that recycling is thrown away...somehow the
perception is created that it all goes into the garbage and then again, how
come we, in our jobs, have faith that it's all going to get recycled? How
can we change that perception?

I also understand that NYC is under a special situation because the program
was stopped and then after hard work from alot of folks, got re-implemented.

Hopefully there will be a chance to renew this commitment though some PR,
especially in like the Times and Wall Street Journal. It's the business
people and academics who asked me these questions to begin with. Get these
stats out there..billboards, a reader board in Timesquare...get the Today
show to do a feature on it..there's alot of resources out there that could
get the info. to the public.

Ironic that a business can get fined for not seperating recyclables,
somehow recycling processors are accountable (that's how you must get stats
on recovery) and yet a hauler isn't accountable for recycling. IT's always
that one incident that creates this perception and it's happened here in
Oregon as well. (The news focused on this one incident and the hauler was
fined but it greatly impacted the public perception).

All I can say is that we certainly have our work cut out for us.

Thanks again,
Karyn

At 09:59 AM 5/2/2006, Samantha MacBride wrote:
>-->
>
>This may be, but I must point out that all of ?NYC? does not deserve to be
>tarred with the same brush.
>
>
>
>The Department of Sanitation collects over 700,000 tons a year of paper,
>metal, glass, and plastic recyclables, in addition to recycling organic
>and inert materials through other programs. None of this is landfilled;
>it is recycled properly. I do not want anyone, Michael Moore or
>otherwise, to get the impression that their efforts to recycle at home or
>in public institutions in New York City are at all in vain. As stated in
>my first email, it is important not to make a few street-side observations
>as a visitor to this town, and then go on to draw citywide conclusions
>about what is going on here, or anywhere for that matter.
>
>
>
>As regards the private sector, we have a wide number of carters here
>competing for commercial hauling contracts. The way NYC laws are written,
>City enforcement ends at the business generator.
>
>
>
>Samantha MacBride
>
>Deputy Director, Recycling
>
>Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling
>
>New York City Department of Sanitation
>
>44 Beaver Street, 6th floor
>
>New York, NY 10010
>
>917-237-5674
>
>----------
>From: Pete Pasterz [mailto:PAPasterz@no.address]
>Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 12:44 PM
>To: David Biddle; Samantha MacBride; Karyn Kaplan; GreenYes
>Cc: Grayson, Pat
>Subject: Re: NYC Recycling?
>
>
>
>Most skeptics and non recyclers I talk with cite variations of this
>reason: "It all gets landfilled anyway, so why should I bother"
>
>
>
>This is the exact issue that Michael Moore raised in his book "Stupid
>White Men" on why he no longer recycles, due to his observations in
>NYC. Unfortunately, it is NOT just an East Coast or Urban phenomenon. I
>have collected a file of many trade and general media reports from around
>the country on such incidents of dumping recyclables over the last 5
>years. Most were from just a few companies, with one being the
>predominant offender.
>
>
>
>When I was the Vice President of the National Recycling Coalition, I
>proposed a resolution which would ask 3 things of our members:
>
>
>
>1. To pledge to set policies in our organizations to not knowingly
>landfill any items set out for us to recycle.
>
>2. To self report to our customer any internal discoveries of
>unintentional landfilling, or that resulting from willful violations of
>our policies.
>
>3. To publicly apologize for the incident and to outline the steps we'll
>take to prevent it in the future.
>
>
>
>Needless to say, this was NOT adopted.
>
>
>
>The industry is paying a price for ignoring this, and no amount of
>"rebranding" is going to regain the lost trust that this perpetuates.
>
>
>
>
>
>----------
>From: GreenYes@no.address [mailto:GreenYes@no.address] On
>Behalf Of David Biddle
>Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 11:52 AM
>To: Samantha MacBride; Karyn Kaplan; GreenYes
>Cc: Grayson, Pat
>Subject: dvorak - heuristic [GreenYes] Re: NYC Recycling?
>Importance: Low
>
>Samantha and Karyn-
>
>We see the same sort of thing here in Philly and I receive numerous
>complaints about haulers ?dumping? recyclables and/or seeming to pick them
>up in the same truck as trash. Obviously, there is little control over the
>private sector and their practices without stringent enforcement policies
>in place.
>
>In Philadelphia (and Pennsylvania as a whole) transfer facilities that
>seek to separate recyclables from waste must have a permit to process
>?mixed waste.? This was tried by the industry for a few years (there were
>three facilities so permitted in the Philadelphia area in the mid-90s),
>but it was found to be wholly impractical and not economic. Currently, we
>have no such facilities­and yet I still hear often about haulers mixing
>waste and recycling in front- and rear-loading trucks. Go figure...
>
>The key to solving this problem is writing good contracts requiring
>haulers to provide separate collection systems and documentation on how
>much material is recycled and where it goes­or, better, contracting with
>one hauler for recycling and one for trash. We have a document on our web
>site that provides guidelines on how to think about and write contracts
>with waste and recycling service vendors . It may be found at:
><http://www.greentreks.org/gpcrc/regulatory_toolsand.asp#sampledocs>http://www.greentreks.org/gpcrc/regulatory_toolsand.asp#sampledocs
>
>In the end, as far as I can tell, so far, facility managers and business
>owners are not dictating the terms of service well enough. As such, they
>suffer the consequences. We now offer a service to help re-write contracts
>through new RFP processes for businesses and institutions and also provide
>monthly support in managing programs and interfacing with service providers.
>
>The lesson in all of this is that if businesses want ?out of sight out of
>mind,? then they run the risk of putting the fox in control of the
>henhouse. Forcing the industry to be accountable is the only way to solve
>this problem.
>
> David Biddle, Executive Director
><http://blueolives.blogspot.com>
>
>253e35d.jpg
>
> P.O. Box 4037
> Philadelphia, PA 19118
> 215-247-3090
> 215-432-8225 (mobile)
> Dbiddle@no.address
>
> <WWW.GPCRC.COM>
>
>Read In Business magazine to learn about sustainable
>businesses in communities across North America!
>Go to:
><<http://www.jgpress.com/inbusine.htm>http://www.jgpress.com/inbusine.htm>
>
>on 5/2/06 11:21 AM, Samantha MacBride at smacbride.nycrecycles@no.address
>wrote:
>
>Dear Ms. Kaplan:
>
>In New York City, businesses are served by private carters operating in a
>free market, not by the City's Department of Sanitation, which services
>residents and institutions, collecting three separate streams: commingled
>paper of all kinds (board and paper); commingled metal, and
>glass/plastic/beverage carton containers; and refuse.
>
>Businesses are required to source separate recycling under Local Law 87 of
>1992. Recycling requirements vary by type of business. See
><http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/recycling/recycling_businesses.shtml>http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/recycling/recycling_businesses.shtml
>for details.
>
>Under the current legal/institutional structure, City has no control over
>the actions of privately contracted carters once the businesses place
>source separated materials at the curb. It is certainly possible that
>carters collect refuse and bundled corrugated or bagged paper in the same
>truck, without compaction, for post-collection sorting. In such cases it
>is perfectly feasible to separate paper and board from black bagged
>refuse; the former going to recycling as paper and board are valuable
>commodities on the secondary materials market. Post-collection separation
>of commingled containers would be more difficult.
>
>In addition, if your friends are working in anything other than a food
>service venue, then, as you will note, their commercial building is not
>required to recycle commingled containers at all, due to the relatively
>small amount of non-food service commercial waste streams that consist of
>containers. If they work hard to separate out such containers, the carter
>has no responsibility to recycle them and most probably will not, due to
>the small volumes involved.
>
>If you are interested in learning more about NYC recycling in general,
>there are a host of resources at www.nyc.gov/nycwasteless. If you are
>interested in the commercial waste stream in particular, you may want to
>consult the Department's "Commercial Waste Management Study," at
><http://www.nyc.gov/html/dsny/html/reports/cwms-ces.shtml>http://www.nyc.gov/html/dsny/html/reports/cwms-ces.shtml
>
>In any event, it is always important to bear in mind that when you discuss
>New York City, or most cities/jurisdictions for that matter, you are not
>speaking about one monolithic policy and service provider for all
>residents, institutions, and businesses; but about an array of
>institutions, some of them public and others private; and a variety of
>laws and programs. San Francisco may be one exception in this regard,
>served as it is by one private corporation for all collections,
>residential, institutional and commercial. On the other hand, in
>contradistinction to New York, many cities, including Chicago and Los
>Angeles, exclude multi-unit buildings from "residential" collection; where
>as NYC collects the three streams mentioned above from all 8 million
>residents, regardless of dwelling type.
>
>What I can assure you, in regard to NYC, is that under the NYC Department
>of Sanitation?s recycling program that serves residents and institutions,
>there are always two source separated streams of recycling collected
>separately from refuse; and the notion that some recycling goes into a
>refuse truck ultimately to be discarded as refuse is an urban myth. For
>more reading on comparative municipal waste policy, you may want to
>consult the following reports:
>
>Processing and Marketing Recyclables in New York City
>
>New York City Recycling In Context
>
>Also available at www.nyc.gov/nycwasteless <http://www.nyc.gov/nycwasteless> .
>
>Good luck with your research,
>
>
>Samantha MacBride
>Deputy Director, Recycling
>Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling
>New York City Department of Sanitation
>44 Beaver Street, 6th floor
>New York, NY 10010
>917-237-5674
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: GreenYes@no.address
>[<mailto:GreenYes@no.address%5d>mailto:GreenYes@no.address] On
>Behalf Of Karyn Kaplan
>Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 10:35 AM
>To: GreenYes
>Subject: [GreenYes] NYC Recycling?
>
>
>I was in NYC recently and a few business people told me that they work
>hard to prepare recyclables and then watch the packer truck come and
>throw all the recycling in with the trash bags.
>
>Can anyone shed any light on how NYC does it's recycling collection and
>indeed is stuff getting recycled or does it all end up in the packer
>truck, garbage and all?
>
>Thanks-
>Karyn Kaplan
>University of Oregon
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>
>DISCLAIMER:
>E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North
>Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
>


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