Two City Councilmembers are pushing legislation that would create composting and electronics waste drop-off sites to compensate for recycling reductions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Community Organics and Recycling Empowerment (CORE) Act, the city would place three drop-off sites for organics and community recycling centers for hazardous or e-waste in each community district by June 2021. The 177 centers would be open 20 hours a week, at minimum.

“It particularly seems relevant right now because we’re talking about budget cuts, we’re talking about more people being at home, probably producing more organic waste that they’re cooking and stuff like that,” said Stuyvesant Town Councilmember Keith Powers, who’s sponsoring the compost legislation. “The whole point here is to get the city better prepared, better organized around organic recycling and make sure that every community has access to it.”

Councilmember Antonio Reynoso’s bill would mandate the same for electronics and hazardous waste. “By law we’re not allowed to drop off e-waste at the curbside or hazardous materials,” Reynoso said. Those items could range from old televisions and computers to CFL light bulbs and latex paint. “We are cutting a program in the city that does exactly that and gives us an alternative to how exactly we get rid of this waste.”

To read the full story, visit https://gothamist.com/news/new-city-council-bills-would-bring-back-composting-drop-sites.
Author: Sydney Pereira, Gothamist
Photo: Scott Lynch, Gothamist

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