Contingent of N.Y. Waste Execs Checking Out Calif. Best Practices

A contingent of 10 representatives from 10 New York City waste and recycling companies is heading to California for a three-day trip to explore best industry practices in the Golden State.

“The east and west coasts of the U.S. have different waste management practices,” Kendall Christiansen, executive director of New Yorkers for Responsible Waste Management (NYRWM), said in a statement. NYRWM is organizing the trip.

“Public policies are the primary driver of west coast recycling and diversion systems, while east coast waste companies are also driven to recycle by high disposal costs—but must deal with the high costs, complex regulatory systems, and severe NIMBYism,” Christiansen said.

“West Coast MRFs are a generation ahead of most on the East Coast,” said Jeff Draper, senior vice president of Zero Waste Energy, a subsidiary of Bulk Handling Systems, which is assisting with the tour. “And so we are pleased to welcome New Yorkers to some of our facilities.”

On the tour of seven facilities in five cities, New York’s waste leaders will see the latest in processing technologies—including mixed-waste MRFs with advanced sorting systems, high-solids organics facilities producing renewable natural gas for vehicle fuel, and a robot on a waste processing conveyor.

“NYC’s commitment to pursue zero waste to landfills by 2030 means taking a serious look at next-generation facilities, accelerating use of technology, and even processing mixed waste to recover recyclable materials, divert organics and generate energy from what remains,” said Norman Steisel, a former first deputy mayor and commissioner of the department of sanitation.

“We look forward to meeting with our industry colleagues in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area; we’ll kick the tires on innovative waste processing systems, and bring new ideas back to New York—including how to process more materials on smaller footprints,” added Ben Velocci of Avid Environmental Services, President of NYRWM.