L.L. 2010/040

Enactment date: 8/16/2010

Int. No. 164-A

By Council Member Palma and the Speaker (Council Member Quinn) and Council Members Brewer, Dickens, Dromm, Fidler, James, Koppell, Lander, Lappin, Mark-Viverito, Rodriguez, Seabrook, Vann, Williams, Rose, Eugene, Jackson, Gennaro, Van Bramer, Levin, Koslowitz, Recchia, Chin, Ferreras, Barron, Garodnick, Mealy and Reyna

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to recycling goals, and to repeal section 16-304, subdivisions a and b of section 16-305 and subchapter three of chapter 3 of title 16 of the administrative code of the city of New York, relating to department-disposed of solid waste, department-collected solid waste and a recycling plan.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative intent and findings. The Council finds that, despite the progress that has been made since the enactment of the New York City Recycling Law (Local Law 19 of 1989), there remains a significant amount of recyclable material that could be re-directed from the City's solid waste stream to the recycling stream. The recovery and reuse of such recyclable material will: (1) minimize environmentally unsound solid waste disposal methods; (2) conserve energy and reduce the City's contribution to global warming emissions; (3) reduce the quantity of heavy metals and other harmful substances in the waste stream; (4) reduce the amount of waste materials that must be exported at ever-increasing costs to out-of-state landfills and incinerators; and (5) reduce the costs to the City of handling solid waste.

The Council further finds that according to the Independent Budget Office, the costs per ton for collection and recycling of City solid waste are now similar to the costs per ton for curbside collection and disposal of non-recycled waste. It is projected that within the next five years, the costs to the City of recycling may actually fall below the costs for out-of-state export of City waste, and thereafter City taxpayers will benefit with each ton of waste that is recycled rather than exported for landfilling or incineration.

Additionally, the Council finds that recycling can benefit the City's economy by creating opportunities for new jobs in industries performing activities related to the recycling of City waste, as is exemplified by the Pratt Industries paper recycling plant on Staten Island and the new Sims Group recycling processing facility that is soon to be constructed at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park.

The New York State Solid Waste Management Act of 1988 established a hierarchy that identifies preferred waste management practices to reduce the State's dependency on land burial of solid wastes. The hierarchy, in descending order of preference, is waste prevention, reuse and recycling, followed by incineration and, lastly, landfilling. Pursuant to that law, the City has adopted its own 20-year Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, which was most recently approved by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in 2006. Among the highlights of the 2006 Plan are commitments to a 20-year contract for the handling of City recyclables and a commitment to use rail and water-based modes of transportation instead of relying on environmentally harmful truck transportation when exporting our waste outside of the City.

The Council finds that while the City has made substantial progress in the implementation of its citywide recycling program since the passage of the New York City Recycling Law, there remain significant additional opportunities to increase recycling in New York City to the benefit of the City's environment and its economy. In the more than 20 years since Local Law 19 was enacted, recycling methods, markets and technologies have evolved, and recycling has become a major global industry. This bill revises the City's residential and institutional recycling programs to reflect changes to recycling systems, while also striving to set the course for continuing improvements to the City's recycling program in the future. The Council also expects this bill to ensure that the Department of Sanitation continues to explore improvements to and the expansion of recycling in New York City in the next decade.

Accordingly, the Council finds that two decades after the passage of the landmark New York City Recycling Law, it is necessary to amend that law to enhance its effectiveness and take advantage of new opportunities to move the City's recycling program into the 21st century.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 12. This local law shall take effect immediately.