It costs the city $300 million to ship over three million tons — that's six billion pounds — of waste to landfill every year, though this is down from post-2002 when the mayor suspended glass, metal and plastic recycling in order to "save money" due to a budget crisis. The goal outlined in PlaNYC is to double the amount of waste being recycled by 2017 but, according to the article, a 30% rate would still put us behind a country like Slovenia which manages to divert 37% of its waste through recycling efforts. More certainly needs to be done.
And it's finally happening:
Part of the [new] effort, Sanitation Department officials said, will include installing hundreds of new recycling bins in public spaces across the city, as well as expanding the types of plastics that can be recycled to include items like yogurt and food storage containers, which are currently exempt.Another part of the effort will be changing the culture of recycling in the city, and I'm wondering what it will take to get everyone from Soundview to Staten Island on board — not to mention all the businesses and offices and stores and everything else. Just as the city has made a concerted effort to get people to stop smoking and watch their consumption of sugary beverages, I think it's going to take a massive PR campaign in order to get the word out. What do you think? How are we going to be able to change people's behavior for the better?
Thanks Michael for sharing this article. I also wrongly thought that NY was a leader in green. So I guess the city is always greener on the other side of the river (Sigh). These numbers are even more depressing that today I received in the mail a brochure from the NYC Department of Sanitation Bureau of Waste Prevention, reuse and Recycling. The lovely brochure explains the "where and when", and each Spring 2012 NYC safe Disposal events are clearly listed. Cartoons are very explicit, easy to go through and yet I can't help myself but think who is going to hold onto the (damn) list? Though I will, I also suspect like Michael that it will take a bigger PR campaign for people to get motivated and understand the extend of their decision to make a trip on the day of the event. So to add to your question about changing people's behavior for the better, I am also asking how do we change the culture of the city in regards to its greening? How can we implement a collective responsibility in regards to recycling? I think we are going to need a more creative approaches than adding more recycle bins to each corner of the town. Will it take a charismatic leader? and as a result will it be a new spirit expressed by New yorkers? If you ask me, I would say probably.
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