MSWAB Advocates to Save NYC’s Organics Program

NYC’s Organics program is under threat from budget cuts resulting from COVID-19. Mayor de Blasio has slashed funding for voluntary curbside collection of organics and community composting drop-off sites.

MSWAB member and former DSNY Commissioner Brendan Sexton co-authored an OpEd in the New York Daily News encouraging City Council to #SaveOurCompost by restoring the $7mn annual budget and mandating Organics separation.

Sexton argues: Composting can save tens of millions of taxpayer dollars annually, once larger numbers of New Yorkers participate in the program. It is cheaper to haul organics to nearby composting facilities than to have them shipped to distant landfills and incinerators, at a cost of nearly $130 a ton.

MSWAB Chair Matthew Civello expanded upon this logic while delivering testimony to City Council on June 15 explaining the necessity of the program.

Want to join the fight to keep composting free and public? Petition elected officials on Change.org or by using this social media toolkit from the #SaveOurCompost Town Hall.

Leveraging MSWAB Recommendation, MBPO Advocates for Testing Sewage for COVID-19

Adopting a recommendation from the MSWAB, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer sent a letter to Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo encouraging the testing of wastewater as an early warning system to detect the presence and spread of COVID-19 in local communities.

The MSWAB analyzed research from the Netherlands, Paris, and other cities demonstrating the efficacy of wastewater-based epidemiology as a tool for local governments before making the recommendation.

In a press release from the MBPO, MSWAB Chair Matthew Civello thanked Borough President Brewer for her action: “Our hope in sharing this information on with the Manhattan Borough President was to give New Yorkers a more immediate indicator of the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in their communities so that they may have more confidence in the reopening of our City and State.”

MSWAB Partners Distribute Food for 300 NYC Families

Paper recycler Pratt Industries donated cardboard boxes made from paper and cardboard collected through DSNY's recycling program to support GrowNYC’s emergency food distribution program.  

On April 1, 2020, United Sherpa Association received 300 emergency food boxes to distribute in Jackson Heights/Elmhurst, a community that has been hit hard by COVID-19. 

GrowNYC began similar distribution efforts with four additional organizations in the weeks that followed.

MSWAB Members Discuss Recycling and Waste Reduction in NYC on WBAI-NY

Manhattan SWAB Chair Matt Civello and longtime member Maggie Clarke Ph.D. called in to the “Living for the City” radio show on WBAI to emphasize the importance of recycling and waste reduction in NYC.

In speaking with host Michael Haskins, Civello and Clarke clarified misconceptions about the city’s waste management program and championed the importance of zero waste as an overlooked tool for combating climate change. Clarke, Chair of the MSWAB’s Long Range Planning Committee, highlighted the connection: “If we incinerate or landfill our waste, we add to the carbon footprint through trucking emissions and methane, a potent greenhouse gas.” She proceeded to cite that "82% of NYC waste is exported to incinerators or landfills - most of which is recycleable, compostable, reusable, or preventable."

When Haskins inquired how to improve the system, Civello emphasized that the “first 6 feet” — the distance between you and your kitchen — represents a critical point of intervention, as good waste management starts with proper source separation. Clarke hailed the importance of public education and outreach to raise awareness about proper practices, stating the need to bring attention to the unappreciated, yet highly important, everyday activity of waste disposal.

See the full interview on WBAI’s website.

MSWAB's Maggie Clarke Quoted in Fortune Magazine

Maggie Clarke, Chair of MSWAB’s Long Range Planning and Waste Prevention and Reuse committees, was recently quoted in a Fortune Magazine article summarizing America’s recycling challenges.

Published January 28, the article explained that America’s waste haulers are struggling to find buyers for recycled materials after China imposed their “National Sword” policy in 2018. Author Tracey Lindeman asserted that the changing economic realities are forcing municipal policymakers to rethink existing infrastructure schemes and adopt best practices for collecting, cleaning, and reprocessing materials.

MSWAB successfully advocated for these practices when insisting that NYC maintain its dual-stream system rather than switching to a single-stream approach with higher contamination rates. The article states:  

Changes to China’s recycled paper market was a central reason why New York City quietly backed away from a plan to switch to single-stream recycling a few years back. The city had considered single-stream because it had hopes of increasing its participation rate, explained Kathryn Garcia, New York City’s sanitation commissioner —a move that local experts like Maggie Clarke, a chair of two committees at the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board, advised against. “We gathered a lot of information from elsewhere where these communities had signed up for single-stream and then had buyers’ remorse [because of high contamination],” Clarke said.

You can find more information about NYC best practices on our Recycling Resources page.

MSWAB Urges Mayor, City Council to Keep East River Compost Yard

The Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board recently wrote a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio, District 2 Council Member Carlina Rivera, NYC Parks & Recreation Commissioner Mitchell Silver, and Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Lorraine Grillo urging the city to rethink its decision to shutter the East River Compost Yard in April 2020.

Rather, the MSWAB implores officials to keep the Compost Yard operational until 2023, at which point construction will force the Yard to relocate.

The site annually diverts over 400 tons of food waste from landfills, and is critical for helping the city reach its zero waste by 2030 goals.

Want to learn more? Read our letter and sign the Change.Org petition.

2019: MSWAB's Year in Review

The Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board celebrated a productive 2019 during the organization’s final meeting of the year, summarizing progress toward key initiatives such as promoting foam alternatives, residential recycling, organics diversion, and pharmaceutical waste diversion.

Thanks to all who contributed to a successful 2019. Highlights from our year include:

MSWAB Monthly Meeting Speakers

• MSWAB members Maggie Clarke and Amy Uong delivered presentations on the economics of recycling and climate and consumption, respectively

• Representatives from DSNY, Upstream, the Oregon DEC, and New York City Citizen’s Committee discussed topics such as the High Line, NYC’s Zero Waste Plan, and sustainable materials management

Public Forums and Public Outreach

MSWAB both hosted and participated in events with partners from around the city

• DSNY Food Waste Fair -  May 23 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

• Is NYC Ready for the Green New Deal - June 20 at the Abrams Art Center

  • Panel participants included Professor Robert Hockett, NYC Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Closed Loop Fund CEO Ron Gonen, and NYC DEP’s Jennifer McDonnell

• NYCxReuse - June 21 at Metropolitan Pavilion

• Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle Fair - October 6 the Mathews-Palmer Playground

• Residential Recycling Forum - October 7 at the Loft at Marble Church

  • Speakers included MSWAB Chair Jacquelyn Ottman, DSNY’s Sam Sepulveda, and Sims General Manager Tom Outerbridge

• NYC Recycles Day - November 10 in Union Square

• Microplastics Madness Movie Screening - November 18 at the Abrams Art Center

• 30th Anniversary “Pearl Jubilee” Fundraiser - December 5 at The Durst Organization

Record-Breaking Grants

• In combination with our partners, the MSWAB donated $79,860 to 102 grantees

Legislative Policy and Program Input

Board members contributed input on legislation across the city and state

• Save As You Throw

• Organics Diversion

• Commercial Waste Zones

• The Green New Deal

• Construction and Demolition Waste

• Foam Ban Implementation

• NYSDEC’s Long Range Plan

• Mandatory Zero Waste Legislation

• New York State Climate Assembly

Other Initiatives

The board strengthened partnerships with the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, the new Queens SWAB, and Pratt Industries (Manhattan Paper Challenge)

MSWAB Applauds A+E Networks'® Reusable To-Go Container Program

Thanks in part to grants from the EPA and Citizens Committee for New York City, media company A+E has debuted a reusable to-go container program in the company’s employee cafeteria. The venture aims to reduce waste from single-use boxes, relying instead on the GO Box technology platform to manage customer borrowing and returning of the zero-waste containers.

MSWAB-partner CCNYC selected A+E as the pilot site after surveying and evaluating dozens of workplace cafeterias across the city. The MSWAB applauds the program, which is one of several circular initiatives poised to disrupt the takeout scene in 2020. Fast casual chain Dig recently launched a program, as did Deliver Zero and Cup Zero. The Future is Good is likewise gathering funds for reusables work.

MSWAB Celebrates Trees NYC for Winning Round 1 of Pratt's Paper Challenge

MSWAB's Brendan Sexton extended congratulations to Trees NYC, the winner of the first round of Pratt’s Manhattan Paper Recycling Challenge. He was joined by Bridget Anderson, Deputy Director of DSNY, and Manhattan Borough President Gail Brewer.

Pratt Industries launched the Manhattan Paper Recycling Challenge to incentivize organizations and districts to improve paper recycling rates. Winners are awarded each quarter to participants competing for $75,000 worth of grants, distributed annually.

Thanks for attending our 4R Fair w/ Speaker Corey Johnson

The MSWAB and New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Gail Brewer, NYS Senator Brad Hoylman, NYS Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfriend, The NYC Department of Sanitation, The NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and the West 45/46th Street Block Association held a Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle Fair on Sunday, October 6th.

The event featured resources, giveaways, demos, repairs, and compost collection with organizations such as Greenpeace, Sunrise Movement, Fixers Collective, and others.