NYC Trash Talk

Image by Chang W. Lee/ The New York TImes

A few weeks ago there was an interesting article about the amount of trash we create in NYC and the ways in which our recycling program lags behind other cities. “Environmental advocates call recycling the weak link in the city’s green agenda, even after legislation was passed last year to overhaul the 1989 recycling law that made New York a 20th-century leader, not a laggard. How far behind is the city? A survey by the Natural Resources Defense Council this year found that more than two dozen large and medium-size cities in the United States recycle all kinds of plastic containers, while New York takes only bottles and jugs. Another study this year, sponsored by Siemens AG, the global electronics and electrical engineering company, ranked New York 16th among 27 cities in its handling of waste, though it was third in overall environmental performance.” Fortunately the piece does more than point out the ways the NYC system is behind—it also highlights programs that have been successful in other cities such as San Fran and Seattle.

—Lunch, Landfills and What I Tossed from NYT

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 at 8:00 am. It is filed under New York City, Sustainability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.