In a major victory for labor groups and environmental advocates, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration will begin implementing a “zoned-collection” system for the city’s private carting industry, undertaking an historic change in how commercial waste is collected and managed in New York City.
For more than a year, consultants and city officials have been studying the industry here and throughout the country to assess the conditions and impacts of private waste collection. In New York City, the Department of Sanitation is responsible for all residential waste collection, but private contractors are responsible for virtually all of the waste collected from businesses, both large and small — about 10,000 tons a night.
Teamsters Local 813, which represents some industry workers, along with a slew of environmental advocacy groups, have assailed the private carting industry as wasteful and exploitative of workers. In its May issue, POLITICO New York magazine examined conditions for workers and some of the environmental impacts of an industry that is relatively unregulated in New York.
In a report that’s scheduled to be released Wednesday, the de Blasio administration will argue a zoned-collection system, known elsewhere as “franchising,” will dramatically reduce vehicle emissions while also giving the city much greater regulatory authority over an industry critics have likened to the wild west. “I was surprised by the magnitude that moving in this direction would mean,” sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia said in an interview before the report’s release.
Zone collection essentially means the city will be divided into zones and contractors will be allowed to bid on specific sectors. Now, a single city block can be serviced by more than a dozen different companies, leading to inefficient routes, excessive pollution and traffic.
Perhaps the most dramatic conclusion in the report is that a zoned-collection system would result in a 49 percent to 68 percent reduction in vehicle emissions and a 42 percent to 64 percent reduction in the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.
To read the full story, visit http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2016/08/following-years-of-protest-city-to-undertake-radical-change-in-private-carting-industry-104763.