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


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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