Group’s Report Aims to Improve New York City’s Organic Waste Diversion

The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYCLV) has made recommendations to New York City on how to improve its organic waste diversion.

The report from the group provides suggestions on how to increase organic waste processing capacity; find alternatives to waste collection; and create economic incentives to cut waste generation, according to a news release.

The environmental education group’s main recommendations include maximizing use of anaerobic digestion capacity at the city’s wastewater treatment plants; launching a pilot project to create franchise zones for commercial organic waste; considering means to encourage the use of in-sink organic material grinders in certain multifamily districts; establishing a save-as-you-throw system to provide economic incentive to generate less waste and recycle more; and assess the capacity of the city’s wastewater treatment system.

Part of the city’s long-range environmental plan is to increase residential and commercial collection of organic waste, and it has passed two bills toward this end. One bill requires businesses to separate out organic material for collection. But for that to be effective, the city needs at least 1,000 tons per day of commercial processing capacity in the region.

The group made these recommendations to address that need.

The Washington-based National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) responded to the report. “Our members that collect organics are reviewing the NYCLV recommendations,” says David Biderman, vice president of government affairs for the NWRA. “It is critically important for adequate capacity to be located close to where organics are generated, especially in New York City where traffic and other operational considerations make organics collection particularly challenging.”