The NYC Department of Sanitation (DOS) is planning a renewed effort at enforcement of the City’s recycling regulations.
The curbside and containerized residential recycling program began 12 years ago and the City law mandating recycling passed in 1989 (Local Law 19). Now, with plans to end the shipment of garbage to the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island by the close of 2001, the DOS finds it necessary, for legal and budgetary reasons, to ensure compliance with the recycling law and its regulations.
According to a letter distributed by Commissioner Kevin P. Farrell, building owners and managers are required to maintain a tenant-accessible recycling area, complete with appropriately posted signs and instructions. It is also required that recyclables be separated from garbage and placed out on the street in a specific way, so that they can be correctly identified for collection. Non-compliance can result in a Notice of Violation with escalating fines if these requirements are not met.
Additionally, if the Department finds that the amount of recyclables being set out at curbside is less than the normal amount generated by a given building size, it can require that all material be set out in clear plastic bags. Therefore, unless your building staff does the separation, managers should make sure that residents are properly informed about source separation rules as an obligation of their tenancy. "They should routinely be told this when tenancy begins and at lease renewals, perhaps through the inclusion of a lease clause or informational material appended to leases, and be given periodic reminders," states Mr. Farrell’s letter.
The DOS is offering copies of their public educational material, from booklets to flyers, posters and decals. These materials are available in English, Spanish, Russian and Chinese. This information can be ordered through the Sanitation Action Center, the Department’s 24 hour phone service at 212-219-8090 or visit their web site www.ci.nyc.ny.us/strongest for this and even more information.
According to a sample of building superintendents from the five boroughs, tenants are recycling better than they did in the past, but it appears that both tenants and superintendents are relying on instructions from the Recycling Program’s inception rather than the newer instructions from the recent expansion. This suggests that current requirements are being violated as buildings are not properly set up for recycling of mixed paper (in clear bags or green bins). Yet, because superintendents consider themselves in compliance with the law if they are in compliance with management policy, it appears that many management companies have failed to inform their building superintendents regarding the new requirements.
The DOS believes that recycling is easier than it has been at any time in the past. Weekly collections are being expanded and will be in place citywide over the next 18 months. By the end of this fiscal year, all of Staten Island, Manhattan and Brooklyn will have weekly collection of recyclables. "But easy or not, recycling is now an established part of New York City’s solid waste management system," states the Commissioner. The DOS looks forward to achieving increased compliance and stands ready to assist in every possible way.