New York City’s recycling policy encompasses the municipal management of residential and commercial waste, including the collection of refuse, recyclables, and organic materials. This page covers CBC’s work on waste collection efficiency, volume-based waste fees, commercial waste zones, organic waste diversion, and labor productivity in the Department of Sanitation.
This page was created with AICBC Insights uses AI to group, analyze and present data and recommendations from CBC's publications. Always reference the cited sources to verify important details..
The City should institute a volume-based fee for waste and tailor it to incentivize recycling, organic composting, and waste reduction.
The City should negotiate operational and work-rule changes with labor that would improve the productivity of recycling and refuse collection.
The City should expand organic composting by increasing drop-off sites, encouraging the use of in-sink disposers, and piloting on-site anaerobic micro digesters in buildings.
The City should reconsider conducting the study on how to implement a volume-based fee in New York City.
The City should use GIS technology to optimize collection routes.
The City should increase the use of one-worker automated collection vehicles where appropriate.
Key Data
In September 2022, the CBC reported that New York City's overall curbside diversion rate—the share of curbside waste that is recycled—had increased by only 1.6 percentage points, from 15.4% in fiscal year 2011 to 17% in fiscal year 2022, significantly lagging behind the City's 23% goal.
In fiscal year 2021, refuse disposal cost the City $203 per ton, whereas recycling processing cost only $53 per ton, meaning the City would save $150 for each additional ton of waste properly sorted and recycled.
While organic waste represents the largest opportunity to increase recycling, comprising 34% of the city's waste stream, participation has been low, with New Yorkers separating just 4% of organic waste suitable for composting in fiscal year 2020.
In fiscal year 2020, recycling collection productivity stood at 5.8 tons per truck shift, which remains far below both the collectively bargained target of 6.2 tons and the average truck capacity of 11.5 tons.
Based on the 2017 Waste Characterization Study, single-use plastic bags make up about 2% of the City's residential waste stream, totaling approximately 71,000 tons annually and costing the City $12.1 million each year to landfill.
Jessica S. Tisch was appointed the 48th police commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Eric Adams in November 2024. Immediately prior, she had served as the commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation, a post she held since April 2022. Commissioner Tisch began her career…
44 million pounds of trash are generated by New Yorkers every day. The NYC Department of Sanitation not only collects residential waste, recyclables, and compostables, but it also removes snow, cleans streets and lots, removes graffiti, and fights rats. CBC Chair Marissa Shorenstein is joined by Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch,…
Kathryn Garcia serves as Director of State Operations and Infrastructure, where she oversees over 70 state agencies and authorities, including the MTA and Port Authority. Kathryn has over 14 years of government experience delivering services that New Yorkers rely on every day. Previously, she served as the Commissioner of the…
New York City's recycling diversion rate remains low at 17 percent, with significant amounts of recyclable material ending up in landfills and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. To improve efficiency and environmental outcomes, the city should implement volume-based waste fees, optimize collection routes, and expand organic waste alternatives like in-sink disposers and drop-off sites.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should institute a volume-based fee for waste and tailor it to incentivize recycling, organic composting, and waste reduction.
The City should negotiate operational and work-rule changes with labor that would improve the productivity of recycling and refuse collection.
The City should expand organic composting by increasing drop-off sites, encouraging the use of in-sink disposers, and piloting on-site anaerobic micro digesters in buildings.
The City should reconsider conducting the study on how to implement a volume-based fee in New York City.
The City should use GIS technology to optimize collection routes.
The City should increase the use of one-worker automated collection vehicles where appropriate.
Key Data
17.0 percent
— The City's overall curbside diversion rate in fiscal year 2022.
50 percent
— The capture rate of recyclable material properly sorted according to the 2017 Waste Characterization Study.
$203 per ton
— The cost of refuse disposal for the City in fiscal year 2021.
$615 per ton
— The cost of recycling collection in fiscal year 2021, which is 80 percent more than the cost of collecting refuse.
149,000 tons
— The amount of organics that could be diverted per year by incentivizing the use of in-sink disposal units.
$177 million and $251 million
— The estimated annual cost range for a citywide curbside organics program.
New York City's goal to reduce waste by 90 percent by 2030 has seen slow progress, with refuse collected falling only 10.7 percent against the 2005 baseline. To improve diversion and efficiency, the city should implement a volume-based fee for waste collection and optimize sanitation truck routes to achieve productivity targets.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should implement a volume-based fee to increase service cost visibility and reduce waste generation.
The City should expand the use of organics drop-off sites in locations central to communities such as subway stops.
The City should incentivize, if feasible and cost-effective, on-site anaerobic digesters in large residential buildings.
The City should encourage the use of in-sink food disposal where feasible for DEP wastewater treatment plants to lessen the need for costly curbside collection.
The City should build on its textile recycling program, either through expanded drop-off locations or by partnering with private haulers.
The City should regularly revise collection routes with the help of GPS technology and routing software to optimize route capacities.
The City should greatly expand containerization, including centralized drop-off sites for waste on the street in districts as appropriate.
The City should allow sanitation routes to cross district boundaries when beneficial.
Key Data
90 percent
— The Mayor’s One New York Plan goal is to reduce total refuse waste by this amount by 2030 against a baseline 2005 level.
$110 million
— The amount the City could save annually from lower waste volumes by implementing a volume-based fee.
600,000
— The number of fewer tons of waste landfilled each year if a volume-based fee is implemented.
$250 million
— The amount the City could save annually by coupling a volume-based fee with effective operational management that optimizes truck routes.
14 percent
— The reduction in the total volume of organics in the refuse stream if in-sink food disposal units are expanded.
34 percent
— The portion of the waste stream comprised of organics, which presents an opportunity to divert a substantial amount of refuse.
New York City should adopt a non-exclusive commercial waste zone model, which maintains competition and service quality while achieving significant reductions in vehicle miles traveled. The City Council is urged to amend Intro 1574 to allow for three to five carters per zone, avoiding the risks and higher costs associated with exclusive contracts.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
We urge enactment of non-exclusive waste zones, which will achieve most of the benefits resulting from a zone system while maintaining competition and customer service, and minimizing fiscal risk to the City.
We urge the City Council to amend Intro 1574 to permit DSNY to award contracts to three to five carters per zone.
The City should use City contracts with commercial carters to set standards for vehicles emissions, safety, training, labor, recycling, and other policy goals.
Key Data
50 percent
— Projected reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) under a non-exclusive zone model.
58 percent
— Projected reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) under an exclusive zone model.
three to five
— Number of carters per zone recommended for the non-exclusive model.
twice
— The factor by which DSNY collection costs exceed those of the private sector.
New York City's proposed commercial waste zone program aims to improve collection efficiency and environmental outcomes by limiting the number of private carters per zone, which is projected to reduce truck traffic by 18 million miles. This plan encourages better recycling and organic waste management by requiring carters to offer these services at lower rates than standard refuse collection.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should implement commercial waste zones to rationalize collection routes and increase efficiency.
Carters should be required to offer recycling and organic collection at a lower rate than refuse collection to incentivize sustainable waste management.
The City should mandate compliance with Local Law 145 regarding minimum vehicle emission standards for all commercial waste carters.
The City should utilize competitive procurement to establish broader requirements for carters, allowing for more sophisticated enforcement tools than simple licensure.
The City should cap the number of zones in which any one carter can operate to prevent a monopoly and support a competitive sector.
Key Data
18 million
— The projected reduction in miles of truck traffic resulting from the new commercial waste zone routes.
3.5 million
— The total tons of waste generated per year by the 108,000 customers currently served by licensed commercial carters.
38%
— The percentage by which the average small business pays more for commercial waste collection than the average large business.
90
— The number of licensed commercial carters currently operating in New York City.
$20.76
— The current ceiling price per cubic yard set by the Business Integrity Commission for commercial waste collection.
$13.62
— The current ceiling price per 100 pounds set by the Business Integrity Commission for commercial waste collection.
New York City's curbside organic waste collection program currently suffers from low participation rates and high costs, with collection expenses reaching $1,700 per ton compared to $291 for refuse. The city should utilize the current pause in program expansion to pilot new strategies for increasing tonnage and to improve collection efficiency through alternative methods.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The Department of Sanitation should fine-tune the organics program by assessing participation in existing neighborhoods, piloting new strategies to increase tonnage, and experimenting with alternative collection schedules or modes.
The Department of Sanitation should provide more detailed data on tonnage, participation, collection modes, costs, and collection efficiency to support the assessment of the program.
The City should adopt alternative methods of collection to potentially lower the high per-ton collection cost of organic waste.
The City should boost resident participation with curbside collection to increase the tonnage set aside for organics, which would reduce the collection cost per ton and the amount of refuse landfilled.
Key Data
$1,700
— Estimated cost per ton for organics collection.
$291
— Cost per ton of refuse collection.
$686
— Cost per ton of recycling collection.
10.6%
— Percentage of organic waste separated in neighborhoods with the curbside program in 2017.
89.4%
— Percentage of organic waste in program districts that was still put in regular waste for landfilling.
3.4%
— Percentage of total citywide organic tonnage represented by current curbside collection.
1,988 lbs is the average amount of garbage a NYC household throws out each year. City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Chair of the Council’s Sanitation Committee, joined to discuss the cost of disposing trash, the capture rate of recyclable materials, commercial waste management, and other important issues related to sanitation…
New York City's waste management system faces significant fiscal challenges, with recycling and organics collection currently costing substantially more than refuse collection due to lower labor productivity. To improve efficiency and reach zero waste goals, the city should optimize labor contracts, implement volume-based garbage fees, and prioritize fiscal sustainability over rapid expansion of underutilized programs.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should seek productivity gains in waste collection by meeting collection targets, increasing the volume of recyclables, and optimizing the labor contract.
The City should focus on increasing participation in the curbside organics program before extending it to other areas.
The City should revisit a plastic bag ban with a fee on alternatives to reduce waste.
The City should implement recommendations from the 2014 report 'Getting the Fiscal Waste Out of Solid Waste Collection in New York City' to meet productivity targets and generate savings.
The City should expand the use of large containers and automated trucks to increase flexibility and productivity.
The City should end bonuses for meeting productivity targets and dumping on shift, as these are more a function of neighborhood density than employee productivity.
The City should halt organics program expansion until participation can be increased in existing districts.
The City should advocate for the use of in-sink disposers to crush food waste and send it to wastewater treatment plants.
Key Data
$629
— The cost to collect a ton of recycling, compared to $291 to collect a ton of refuse.
$120 million
— The potential annual savings from meeting productivity targets in waste collection.
$105 million
— The net reduction in costs if the City increases recycling capture rates to 55 percent and meets productivity targets.
$40 million
— The estimated cost of collecting 13,000 tons of organics.
$4 million
— The estimated savings from a pilot program using in-sink disposers in four districts.
$12.1 million
— The amount the City spends annually to landfill plastic bags.
New York City should implement a ban on plastic bags combined with a fee on alternative bags to effectively reduce waste, as simple bans often lead consumers to switch to other single-use options. Plastic bags currently account for 71,000 tons of the city's annual waste stream, costing $12.1 million to landfill, while similar hybrid policies in other cities have successfully reduced single-use bag consumption by 94 percent.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should act again on this issue and a local ban on plastic bags, coupled with a fee on alternatives, should be adopted.
A hybrid ban on plastic bags along with a fee on alternatives would be more effective than a simple ban.
Key Data
2 percent
— Plastic bags make up about 2 percent of the City’s residential waste stream.
71,000 tons
— There were about 71,000 tons of plastic bags in the waste stream based on the 2017 Waste Characterization Study.
$12.1 million
— Plastic bags are landfilled with the rest of the City’s waste at a cost of $12.1 million each year.
94 percent
— A similar effort in Los Angeles led to a 94 percent reduction in single-use bags.
$4
— The effort in Los Angeles cost less than $4 per resident per year.
New York City's goal of achieving Zero Waste by 2030 faces significant challenges due to inefficient collection systems and low participation rates in current programs like organics and recycling. To improve cost-effectiveness and waste diversion, the city should implement more efficient collection strategies, such as single-stream recycling and volume-based garbage fees, while optimizing labor practices and route scheduling.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The city should implement a slower rollout of the organics program, limiting it to districts expected to generate sufficient tonnage to avoid requiring additional collection days.
The city should utilize in-sink disposers in select districts to divert organic waste from landfills without requiring curbside collection.
The city should achieve the adoption of single-stream recycling as expeditiously as possible to boost the diversion rate.
The city should allow greater flexibility in the frequency of collection, scheduling, and recycling practices, including redesigned routes.
The city should eliminate “unproductive” productivity bonuses for tons collected per truck shift and for dumping on shift, which are a function of the route rather than worker productivity.
Key Data
31 percent
— Portion of the residential waste stream comprised of organic waste.
81.4 tons
— Average amount of organics collected per day by the Department of Sanitation in fiscal year 2017.
17 percent
— Current recycling diversion rate, representing the share of curbside waste that is recycled.
5.6 tons
— Average amount of recyclable material collected per truck shift.
$640
— Cost per ton for collecting recyclable material.
In fiscal year 2016, the Department of Sanitation improved the city's recycling diversion rate by 6%, reaching a total rate of 16.9%. Despite this progress in waste management, the volume of refuse disposed in the city increased slightly during the same period.
Key Data
6%
— The Department of Sanitation improved the recycling diversion rate by 6%.
16.9%
— The recycling diversion rate reached 16.9% in fiscal year 2016.
New York City has seen a decline in refuse disposal since fiscal year 2009, even as the city's population has grown. The diversion rate for recycled materials has improved, reaching 16.1 percent in the first four months of fiscal year 2016 as the administration pursues its "Zero Waste" goals.
Key Data
1.2 percent
— The amount of refuse disposed of by the Department of Sanitation decreased by this amount in the first four months of fiscal year 2016 compared to the same period in fiscal year 2015.
0.8 percentage points
— The diversion rate of recycled materials increased by this amount in the first four months of fiscal year 2016 compared to the same period in fiscal year 2015.
16.1 percent
— The diversion rate of recycled materials reached this level in the first four months of fiscal year 2016.
New York City's efforts to divert organic waste from landfills face significant financial and logistical hurdles, with citywide expansion of curbside collection potentially costing up to $250 million annually. To ensure sustainability, the city should prioritize more limited strategies, such as utilizing in-sink disposers in suitable neighborhoods and optimizing collection routes to avoid additional expenses.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should consider in-sink disposers in select neighborhoods with adequate wastewater treatment plant infrastructure.
The Department of Environmental Protection and DSNY should collaborate to carefully study and identify neighborhoods where in-sink disposers could be used without burdening wastewater treatment infrastructure.
The City should expand curbside collections only where and when additional collection routes are not required.
The City could replace a weekly refuse pickup with an organics pickup to avoid additional collection routes.
The City could collect refuse and organics simultaneously with special trucks with two separate compartments.
The City should devise a more limited strategy until it can address the high cost of residential garbage collection and secure adequate organics processing capacity.
Key Data
$177 million and $250 million
— Estimated annual cost if the curbside organics program were expanded citywide.
88,000
— Minimum number of new truck shifts projected to be needed each year under current collection practices.
10 percent
— Available processing capacity within 150 miles of Manhattan for total NYC residential and commercial organic waste.
55 percent
— NYC households currently served by wastewater treatment plants with sufficient capacity to deal with food sludge.
600,000 tons
— Annual amount of residential organic waste that is food.
$19 million
— Cost of the residential organics pilot program over two years.
The NYC Department of Sanitation's operations and costs are analyzed, specifically focusing on collection and disposal expenses alongside recycling and organic waste capture rates. This overview provides insight into the department's fiscal and operational performance regarding waste management.
New York City's efforts to divert organic waste from landfills face significant financial and logistical hurdles, with citywide curbside collection estimated to cost between $177 million and $251 million annually. Targeted strategies, such as limiting curbside collection to neighborhoods that do not require additional truck routes or utilizing in-sink food waste disposers in areas with adequate wastewater infrastructure, offer more cost-effective alternatives for achieving environmental goals.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
Expand curbside collections only where and when additional collection routes are not required.
Consider encouraging use of in-sink disposers in select neighborhoods with adequate wastewater treatment plant infrastructure and capacity to reduce garbage collection.
Municipal leaders should understand that unless residential trash collection costs are reduced by fundamentally altering collection routes and practices, new program costs will greatly overwhelm any potential savings from landfill reduction.
DSNY and DEP should collaborate to identify neighborhoods where in-sink disposers could be used without burdening existing wastewater treatment infrastructure and where trash collections could be reduced.
If wider diversion of organic waste is a high priority, collection costs must be brought down as part of the program.
Key Data
$1.7 billion
— Annual cost to taxpayers for managing residential trash.
1.8 million tons
— Amount of organic waste generated and carted away every year in New York City.
$177 million to $251 million
— New annual costs for citywide curbside organics collection.
88,000
— Number of new truck-shifts needed each year for citywide curbside collection.
176,000 tons
— Available annual capacity for composting facilities within 150 miles of midtown Manhattan.
$4 million
— Annual savings from implementing in-sink disposers in four specific sanitation districts.
Expanding New York City's organic waste collection program citywide would cost between $177 million and $250 million annually, significantly increasing the current $1.7 billion residential waste collection budget. To manage these costs, the city should prioritize strategies like expanding in-sink disposers, limiting curbside collection expansion to efficient routes, and introducing competition among private carters.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should expand curbside collections only where and when additional collection routes are not required.
The City should collaborate with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to expand the use of in-sink disposers.
The City should bring down the cost of all collections in the long-term.
The City should negotiate changes to the contract for sanitation workers to reduce collection costs.
The City should open all or some residential waste collection to a competition among private carters.
Key Data
1 million tons
— Annual size of the organic waste stream.
186,600
— Number of households currently served by the organic waste collection program.
43 percent
— The citywide recycling rate.
$19 million
— Cost of the organic waste program over two years.
88,000
— Estimated new truck-shifts needed each year for citywide expansion.
$177 million to $250 million
— Estimated annual citywide costs for expanding the curbside program.
New York City currently has a limited existing capacity of 28,365 tons per year for processing organic waste, with a total permitted capacity of 268,954 tons per year within a 150-mile radius. To address waste management needs, there is a potential for 1,049,385 tons of new annual organic waste processing capacity through proposed in-city and regional facilities.
Key Data
28,365
— Total existing permitted capacity for organic waste processing within New York City in tons per year.
268,954
— Total permitted processing capacity for food and yard waste within 150 miles of New York City in tons per year.
1,049,385
— Total potential new organic waste processing capacity, including in-city and regional facilities, in tons per year.
New York City's current waste management system costs taxpayers $1.5 billion annually, yet fails to incentivize waste reduction or meet ambitious environmental goals. Implementing a variable fee structure for residential trash removal would encourage recycling and composting while providing a new revenue stream to support necessary disposal infrastructure.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should implement a variable fee for residential trash removal to provide an economic incentive to reduce non-recyclable and non-compostable waste.
City officials should craft a plan for phased implementation of garbage fees before moving to wider expansion.
The City should start the implementation of garbage fees with a voluntary pilot program.
For large apartment buildings, the City could use bag or sticker programs to manage waste fees.
The City could use rebates to offset the new fees for residents.
Key Data
$300 million
— Annual cost of landfilled trash managed by New York City's Department of Sanitation.
1 million tons
— Annual greenhouse gas emissions produced by landfilled trash.
$7
— Monthly cost of disposal for the average New York City household.
$1.5 billion
— Annual amount New York City taxpayers spend to pick up residential and public trash.
$500
— Annual cost per household to pick up residential and public trash.
Major U.S. cities utilize diverse funding models for municipal solid waste management, ranging from general fund allocations to enterprise funds and variable monthly fees. These cities demonstrate varying levels of success in waste reduction, with residential diversion rates ranging from as low as 6% in Chicago to as high as 60% in San Jose and Seattle.
Key Data
60%
— 2013 residential diversion rate in San Jose.
60%
— 2013 residential diversion rate in Seattle.
55%
— 2012 residential diversion rate in San Francisco.
137.9%
— 2012 solid waste revenues as a share of expenses in Dallas.
123.1%
— 2012 solid waste revenues as a share of expenses in Los Angeles.
New York City's garbage collection system is significantly more expensive than private-sector alternatives, with $2.3 billion spent annually on public and private waste management. Implementing reforms such as flexible scheduling, automated collection, and financial incentives for waste reduction could save the city hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
Promote flexibility to meet neighborhood needs, including permitting more flexibility in the frequency of refuse collection, the scheduling of shifts, recycling practices, and the type of street litter basket.
Expand the use of large containers and automated trucks, specifically increasing the use of one-worker, automated trucks from 8 percent to 18 percent to improve recycling and refuse collection efficiency.
Implement financial incentives to reduce refuse generation, such as pay-as-you-throw fees, which discourage garbage creation and encourage reuse and recycling.
Eliminate 'unproductive' productivity bonuses for DSNY workers, as meeting the criteria for these bonuses is a function of workers' route assignments and neighborhood characteristics rather than a function of workers' productivity.
Introduce competition to promote efficient public waste collection by soliciting public and private-sector bids to collect smaller streams of waste, such as government agencies, schools, and street litter baskets.
Create franchises for more efficient commercial waste collection to limit the number of carters allowed to operate in a given area, thereby reducing truck congestion and improving the efficiency of operations.
Diversify capacity for snow removal to include other public employees, private contractors, and retired DSNY employees so that the limited number of snow events does not impact year-round staffing decisions.
Key Data
$2.3 Billion
— Total spent annually on both the public and private systems of handling trash in New York City.
$300 Million
— Annual savings from the proposed longer-term changes to the garbage collection system.
$96 Million
— Annual savings from the three short-term reforms to the municipal Department of Sanitation.
$72 Million
— Annual savings if routes were redesigned to increase the average amount of refuse collected per truck-shift from 10 to 12 tons.
$20 Million
— Annual savings if DSNY expanded the use of one-worker, automated trucks from 8 percent to 18 percent.
$57 Million
— Estimated annual savings from implementing pay-as-you-throw fees to discourage garbage creation.
New York City could save over $300 million annually by modernizing its waste collection system through measures like implementing pay-as-you-throw fees, introducing managed competition for residential and commercial collection, and increasing the use of automated trucks. These reforms would improve efficiency, reduce the environmental footprint of waste disposal, and incentivize residents to generate less waste and recycle more.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should promote flexibility in service arrangements to meet neighborhood needs, including altering the frequency of refuse collection and redesigning routes to ensure every truck-shift picks up at least 12 tons.
DSNY should expand the use of automated trash collection, specifically increasing the use of one-worker, automated trucks from 8 percent to 18 percent.
The City should eliminate unproductive “productivity” bonuses that are currently based on route characteristics rather than actual worker performance.
Municipal policy should implement financial incentives to reduce refuse generation, such as pay-as-you-throw fees, to encourage residents to produce less waste and recycle properly.
The City should introduce competition to promote efficient public waste collection by soliciting public- and private-sector bids to collect smaller streams of waste and eventually applying this approach citywide.
The City should create franchises for more efficient commercial waste collection to limit the number of carters allowed to operate in a given area, thereby reducing truck congestion and improving operational efficiency.
The City should diversify capacity for snow removal by including other public employees, private contractors, and retired DSNY employees to reduce the reliance on sanitation workers for this task.
Key Data
$275 million
— Estimated annual savings from redesigning municipal waste collection policies.
$72 million
— Annual savings from redesigning routes to increase the average amount of refuse collected per truck-shift from 10 to 12 tons.
$20 million
— Annual savings from expanding the use of one-worker, automated trucks from 8 percent to 18 percent.
$57 million
— Estimated annual savings from implementing pay-as-you-throw fees to reduce garbage and increase recycling.
$220 million
— Annual savings if all DSNY collections were subject to competition.
$303 million
— Total annual savings from the proposed long-term garbage collection reforms.
New York City's waste management system is exceptionally expensive due to labor contract inefficiencies and a lack of incentives for waste reduction, such as the absence of 'pay-to-throw' fees. Furthermore, the city's recycling program is inefficient, costing $629 per ton to collect recyclable material, largely due to rigid collection schedules and the failure to adopt 'single stream' recycling.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should implement 'pay-to-throw' arrangements to provide an incentive for customers to reduce waste.
The City should move to 'single stream' recycling to reduce the number of trucks required for collection.
The City should reform rigid collection cycles for recycling that currently mandate once-per-week pickup regardless of the amount of material put out.
Key Data
$629 per ton
— The cost for DSNY to collect recyclable material.
$251 per ton
— The cost for DSNY to collect refuse.
$431
— DSNY's average combined collection and disposal cost per ton.
$185
— Private carters' average combined collection and disposal cost per ton.
$57
— Public sector cost of collecting a ton of refuse in Miami-Dade County.
$251
— Public sector cost of collecting a ton of refuse in New York City.
New York City's waste management system is inefficient and costly, with recycling collection costs per ton nearly doubling over seven years while diversion rates have declined. Implementing pay-as-you-throw programs, adopting automated collection technology, and transitioning to franchise agreements for private carters could improve efficiency and reduce environmental impacts.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
If New York City were to implement PAYT for its residential service, the City would need to devise a plan to avoid increasing the overall tax burden, such as household rebates or a property tax rate reduction.
Opportunities may exist for more extensive use of dumpsters and similar technology.
Commingled recycling collection may be more economically sensible in some areas of the city, in particular those with low diversion rates.
New York City should consider limiting the number of private waste carters through either exclusive or non-exclusive franchise agreements.
The City should experiment with and invest in more sophisticated sorting technology to determine when and where this approach may be beneficial.
Key Data
$2.3 billion
— Annual local spending on residential and commercial garbage in New York City.
14%
— Percentage of the 3.8 million tons of trash collected annually by the DSNY that is recycled.
63%
— Percentage of waste collected by private carters that is recycled.
$629 per ton
— Cost for the DSNY to collect recyclable material in fiscal year 2012.
$251 per ton
— Cost for the DSNY to collect refuse in fiscal year 2012.
15.1%
— The diversion rate for DSNY curbside recycling in 2012.
New York City relies heavily on expensive and environmentally harmful long-distance landfilling for its waste, despite the potential for significant cost savings and environmental benefits through local waste-to-energy conversion. By adopting modern waste-to-energy practices similar to those used in Europe, the city could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35% and save $2 billion over 30 years.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
New York City should follow the example of many European countries that convert nonrecyclable garbage into energy.
Greater savings would be achieved by allowing larger new plants and partnering with existing local ones.
The city should explore their [existing local facilities] ability to receive additional garbage, either as currently configured or through expansion.
Key Data
$119 million
— Annual savings for New Yorkers if local waste-to-energy facilities processed 2 million more tons of city waste.
$2 billion
— Total savings over 30 years if local waste-to-energy facilities processed 2 million more tons of city waste.
35%
— Reduction in annual greenhouse-gas emissions if local waste-to-energy facilities processed 2 million more tons of city waste.
$66 and $77
— Current cost per ton of local waste-to-energy, compared with $95 for long-distance landfilling.
15%
— Percentage of garbage recycled by New York City.
9%
— Percentage of garbage converted to energy by New York City.
New York City's current waste management system relies heavily on expensive, environmentally damaging long-distance landfilling, which costs taxpayers over $2 billion annually. To improve efficiency and sustainability, the city should shift toward local waste-to-energy facilities and implement financial incentives like "pay-as-you-throw" to reduce waste generation and increase recycling rates.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
The City should foster the construction of waste-to-energy plants sited and designed for city needs.
The City should partner with owners of existing facilities within the region to expand their capacity and willingness to process New York City’s waste.
The City should implement a trial pay-as-you-throw system in the short-term, taking lessons learned to a citywide program in the long-term.
The City should stick to its plan and reinvigorate the recycling program by touting the expansion and the simplification of recycling rules.
Municipal leaders should give high priority to managing solid waste in a way that is fiscally and environmentally sound.
Key Data
$2 billion
— Annual cost to New York City taxpayers to throw out its garbage.
$95 per ton
— Cost for the three million tons of garbage the City exports to landfills.
15 percent
— Current recycling rate for residential and government waste.
30 percent
— Goal for the residential recycling rate by fiscal year 2017.
14 million tons
— Total amount of waste produced by residents, tourists, and commercial enterprises in New York City each year.
$66 and $77 per ton
— Current contract prices for New York City waste delivered to waste-to-energy plants in Newark, New Jersey and Hempstead, Long Island.
New York City's waste management system costs $4 billion annually, with significant potential savings available through waste reduction, increased recycling, and greater reliance on waste-to-energy facilities. By improving collection efficiency and adopting policies like "pay to throw" fees, the city could lower costs and reduce the environmental impact of its current disposal methods.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
New York City should test the effectiveness of “pay to throw” fees for collection and taxes on plastic bags to incentivize waste reduction.
The Department of Sanitation should aggressively pursue new options to send garbage to expanded or newly constructed waste-to-energy facilities within the city or region.
The city must increase the residential recycling rate to the feasible target of 35 percent to achieve economies of scale and lower collection costs.
DSNY management should work cooperatively with the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association to reverse the trend of rising collection costs.
The city should get more material into recycling trucks to improve the cost-effectiveness of recycling operations.
Key Data
$4 billion
— The annual cost of solid waste management for New Yorkers.
$440 per ton
— The average cost of collecting and disposing of waste by the Department of Sanitation.
$205 million
— The potential annual savings from a 10 percent reduction in the amount of waste generated.
15.4 percent
— The current residential recycling rate in New York City.
35 percent
— The feasible target recycling rate estimated by the Department of Sanitation.
56 percent
— The increase in collection cost per ton since 2005.
New York City's recycling efforts are mixed, with the city recycling 56 percent of its total waste but only 16 percent of its residential waste, which is significantly lower than top-performing cities. To improve performance, the city should consider implementing a 'pay-as-you-throw' system for waste collection and re-evaluating the cost-effectiveness of mandates for recycling specific materials like plastics and electronics.
Recommendations related to Recycling Policy
A careful review of the cost-effectiveness of new recycling measures is appropriate.
New York City should implement a 'pay-as-you-throw' system to use pricing policy to encourage consumers to reduce the waste stream.
New York’s green agenda should address the obstacles, regulatory and other, to more substantial use of waste-to-energy plants to handle waste that is not recycled.
Mandates for the recycling of items such as certain plastics or electronic equipment which may impose excessive costs are candidates for review.
Key Data
56%
— New York's total waste recycling rate.
16%
— New York's residential recycling rate.
17.3 million
— Tons of waste generated annually by New York.
25%
— Percentage of New York State's non-recycled waste sent to waste-to-energy incinerators.
7.5%
— Percentage of New York City's total waste stream comprised of plastic bag waste.
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