The Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management held a hearing on local legislation that will ensure the fair distribution of garbage handling in New York City. Intro. 495 follows through on the City Solid Waste Management Plan’s commitment to ensure relief for communities long overburdened by waste impacts. Currently, nearly three-fourths of all waste handled in NYC is trucked to transfer stations in just three communities – North Brooklyn, the South Bronx, and Southeast Queens. The legislation will require modest reductions in waste handled at truck-based transfer stations in these communities and ensures that no community will be unfairly overburdened in the future by capping the percentage of the City’s waste that can be handled in any one community district.
The high volume of truck traffic associated with concentrations of waste transfer stations in these neighborhoods can lead to increased asthma rates and other negative health impacts. Int. 495 addresses this by decreasing permitted capacity and throughput for waste processing in overburdened communities, as well as putting a cap on the permitted capacity in each community district throughout the City. It will further the City’s move to eliminating millions of truck miles traveled in New York City each year through the use of barge- and rail-based facilities. The Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management will be holding a hearing on the legislation.
IN THE NEWS
Times Ledger: Rival groups battle it out during trash hearing
Greenpoint Gazette: In a Familiar Scene, Lawmakers Call for Trash Equity at City Hall Rally and Hearing
Recycling Today: NYC Chapter of the NW&RA members testify against Intro 495
NY Press: Going It Alone on Trash