[GreenYes] Fwd: NYC Council Sanitation Committee Approves SW Plan

[Gary Liss <gary@no.address>]

FYI, once this is adopted by the full Council, it is likely that the 
NYC ewaste takeback bill will be re-introduced.

Gary

>From: "Kendall Christiansen" <kendall@no.address>
>Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 21:52:48 -0400
>
>FYI.
>
>July 19, 2006
>Contact: 212.788.7116
>
>COUNCIL SANITATION COMMITTEE OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES
>COMPREHENSIVE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN
>
>Plan Expected to Pass Full Council During Stated Council Meeting
>
>City Hall *The New York City Council's Committee on Sanitation 
>approved by a vote of 8 to 1 a Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) 
>today that will more evenly distribute each borough's responsibility 
>for the City's trash and recycling efforts, and relieve overburdened 
>communities.  The plan, which includes major City Council 
>improvements on the original proposal, is expected to be passed by 
>the full Council during this evening's Stated Council Meeting.  The 
>SWMP is a ten to twenty year plan for handling the City's trash, 
>including waste reduction and recycling, as well as disposal of 
>residential and commercial waste.
>
>The SWMP will decrease dependence upon trucks for waste transport 
>through the use of barge and rail systems.  This will result in a 
>reduction of 3 million truck miles per year within New York City, 
>which will decrease air pollution and relieve congestion in many 
>over trafficked neighborhoods.
>
>In addition, the plan will dramatically strengthen the City's 
>commitment to handling commercial and residential waste in a manner 
>that relieves overburdened communities.  The plan includes a 
>reduction of up to 6,000 tons of waste per day from neighborhoods in 
>Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx that currently process most of the 
>City's trash.
>
>  "For far too long, the burden of waste management has fallen on a 
> limited number of outer borough communities," said Speaker 
> Quinn.  "This Solid Waste Management Plan, achieved through the 
> joint work of the Council and the Bloomberg Administration, lays 
> out a system of self-sufficiency, in which each of the five 
> boroughs takes responsibility for its own garbage, and no single 
> borough is overburdened.  And by removing garbage from the City 
> through barge and rail transport, we will dramatically reduce the 
> negative effects of truck traffic on our neighborhoods."
>
>To further reduce the risk of overburdening communities, the SWMP 
>will limit to 75% the amount of containerized residential trash that 
>can pass through any one intermodal facility, provided that it is 
>financially viable.  In addition, the Council has called for back up 
>plans to deal with any emergency shut downs at the main intermodal 
>facility.  The amended plan will provide incentives to vendors who 
>design facilities with these back ups built in.
>
>  "This plan is a great victory for the people of New York City and 
> Staten Island," said Sanitation Committee Chair Michael 
> McMahon.  "For the first time in the City's history, we have a plan 
> that is fair to all New Yorkers and that will actually be 
> implemented, thanks to the work of Speaker Quinn, Mayor Bloomberg, 
> and Commissioner Doherty."
>
>The amended SWMP also included a number of safeguards to ensure that 
>the plan remains responsive to the City's residents.  Any change to 
>the plan affecting 5% of residential trash or 10% of the City's 
>total waste will automatically require review and approval by the Council.
>
>The plan will establish a community task force for each of the 
>City's municipal transfer stations (MTS), and will monitor the 
>stations for sufficient commercial waste processing.  In addition, 
>the SWMP provides for a truck impact study to monitor truck traffic 
>in neighborhoods in which transfer stations are located.
>
>In addition, the plan establishes an ongoing search for alternative 
>sites in Manhattan, seeking locations with the collective capacity 
>to transfer up to 3,000 tons per day of Commercial Waste.  The 
>Council's amendments also establish a timeline for the four proposed 
>MTSs, requiring an executed agreement within four years.  If this 
>deadline is not met, the SWMP will return to the Council for review 
>and alteration.
>
>WASTE REUSE, REDUCTION AND RECYCLING
>
>The SWMP also includes a number of Council initiatives that will 
>improve recycling efforts throughout the City.  It provides for the 
>creation of a new Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE) 
>to be housed within the Mayor's Council on the Environment.  The new 
>Office will assume responsibility for elements of policy and program 
>development, education, expansion, enforcement, and other tasks 
>related to recycling.
>
>  "It is critically important to have a far reaching plan for waste 
> reduction in New York City," said Speaker Quinn.  "By creating a 
> new office to focus on these important goals, we can help keep New 
> York City at the forefront of recycling initiatives and 
> technologies.  I look forward to working with the Mayor to ensure 
> that waste reduction policies continue to receive the attention they deserve."
>
>"From an environmental perspective this plan is a winner for all New 
>Yorkers," said Environmental Protection Committee Chair James 
>Gennaro. "The plan's expansion of waste reduction, reuse and 
>recycling - coupled with its substantial decrease in trash truck 
>travel - promise benefits to New York City's environment for many 
>years to come."
>
>OROE staff will work in individual communities, and with 
>institutions such as schools, hospitals, and public housing to 
>develop better recycling practices.  The Office will pursue new 
>technologies, develop and implement new programs and policies, and 
>help manage reuse and reductions efforts.  The SWMP also guarantees 
>a comprehensive review of the City's new recycling plan to take place in 2010.
>
>The plan also expands the types of plastics recycled, making it 
>easier for residents to determine what is recyclable and reducing 
>the need for enforcement.  Currently only types 1 and 2 are 
>recycled; the new SWMP would extend that to plastic types 3 * 7.
>
>The SWMP also provides for a pilot program that will test recycling 
>in public places such as parks, transportation hubs, and 
>pedestrian-heavy streets. If successful, the program will be 
>expanded to public areas throughout the city.
>
>Over the course of the 20-year SWMP planning period, the growth of 
>electronic waste will undoubtedly create new burdens on the City's 
>waste management programs.  The Department of Sanitation will meet 
>with Council representatives to discuss electronics recycling 
>legislation aimed at diverting electronics equipment from disposal, 
>while not adversely impacting the City's retail business community.
>
>The SWMP will expand upon the City's composting program to include 
>spring yard waste.  It will require yard composting materials to be 
>placed in paper bags, and will also require landscapers to compost 
>their clippings.  In addition, the City will be required to put 
>forth a proposal for collection of hazardous household waste, such 
>as solvents, pesticides, and hobby chemicals.
>
>The sum result will be an innovative and intelligent approach to 
>waste reduction, reuse, and recycling that can take advantages of 
>the different characteristics of diverse neighborhoods to create an 
>effective program.
>
>

Gary Liss & Associates
916-652-7850
Fax: 916-652-0485
www.garyliss.com 

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