Bring your Christmas tree for mulching either to the curbside until January 15 or to your local Mulchfest location where you can get free mulch until January 9.
MSWAB Member Publishes Op-Ed on Climate Consequences of Pending Closure of Composting Sites
MSWAB member Melissa Iachan co-wrote an Op-Ed in CityLimits arguing that the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation's decision to evict two community composting operations represents a blow to the NYC's Climate Goals.
Although organic waste represents more than a third of the city’s waste stream and Mayor de Blasio has a “Zero Waste to landfills” goal, the non-profit Lower East Side Ecology Center and Big Reuse composting programs are facing imminent eviction from Parks’ land in East River Park.
Read the article here.
See Replay of Tri-Swab Extended Producer Responsibility Webinar
Missed the December 15th Extender Producer Responsibility webinar hosted by the Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens SWABs?
Click here to hear a replay of the session, which featured State Senator Todd Kaminsky, Tom Outerbridge from Sims Municipal Recycling Facility, Kate Kitchener from DSNY, David Pearce from Canadian Stewardship Alliance, and Moderator Brendan Sexton, former DSNY Commissioner.
The password is TPPCD7$Q
New York City's "Waste Equity" Law Survives Appeal by Waste Industry Groups
An appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court recently upheld a decision to reject an appeal from waste industry groups seeking to overturn Local Law 152, better known as the waste equity bill.
Supported by environmental justice advocates and the MSWAB, the bill permits DSNY to reduce capacity at transfer stations in neighborhoods in the South Bronx, North Brooklyn and Southeast Queens that have been historically overburdened by waste management infrastructure.
Read more at WasteDive.com.
"You're a Green One, Mr. Finch!"
You're a Green One, Mr. Finch brings together the Broadway community to tell the untold story of Mr. Finch, the Grinch’s disgruntled cousin. Through holiday songs and festive cameos, Mr. Finch - who wants to make the Holiday Season all about him - learns what it really means to have a green, sustainable holiday.
Mark your calendar to join us for this free concert! All donations collected during the stream will benefit the Broadway Green Alliance. Read more below.
FRIDAY, December 18 @ 8 pm ET
Annual Fundraiser on December 16th! Register here to help fund our grants!
What happens to NYC after you throw it away? It goes to New Jersey’s chemical corridor to be burned.
New York City’s waste is exported and incinerated, harming residents of local communities like Newark, New Jersey. For the MSWAB’s annual fundraiser, we are screening The Sacrifice Zone on December 16th, a film that showcases efforts to halt the environmental injustice. A discussion with the film’s protagonist will follow.
Join the MSWAB, BKSWAB, and QSWAB for a December 15th EPR Webinar
Join the Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens SWABs on December 15th from 7-8:30 PM for a Zoom webinar on Extended Producer Responsibility.
Speakers include:
State Senator Todd Kaminsky
Tom Outerbridge from Sims Municipal Recycling Facility
Kate Kitchener from DSNY
David Pearce from Canadian Stewardship Alliance
And Moderator Brendan Sexton, former DSNY Commissioner
The session will answer questions such as:
What is extended producer responsibility?
How would it work in New York?
How is it working in Canada?
What is the proposed state legislation?
Check back soon for registration information!
Enforcement of NYC's Plastic Bag Ban Takes Effect
On Monday, October 19, 2020, the Department of Environmental Conservation began enforcing the Plastic Bag Ban, which originally took effect on March 1, 2020.
The law bans any organization that collects NY State sales tax from distributing plastic bags. Customers must pay 5 cents per paper carry-out bag. Businesses caught violating the ban will receive an initial warning and will be subject to fines for subsequent infractions.
More information about the ban can be found here.
MSWAB Collaborator Calls for Redesign of NYC's Organics System
Clare Miflin, founder of the Center for Zero Waste Design and frequent MSWAB collaborator, published an article in City Limits encouraging a redesign of NYC’s system for organics waste collection.
Although redirecting organics from the landfill to composting is the most significant step the city can take to achieve zero waste, the city’s COVID-19 crisis budget decimated funding for the existing organics program.
In the article, Miflin analyzes limitations to the existing program and cites scalable, affordable solutions from NYC neighborhoods that can be deployed to collect all organic waste. Read the article here.
Maggie Clarke Overviews 3R Grant at Conference
Maggie Clarke, Chair of MSWAB’s Long Term Planning Committee, delivered a presentation at the Air and Waste Management Association’s Annual Conference from in early July 2020.
The presentation overviewed the MSWAB’s successful Reduce, Reuse, Repair grant program, which provides NYC residents up to $2000 to commence new reuse, repair, waste prevention or upcycling projects, undertake related research projects, or initiate other activities that inspire waste prevention or reuse / repair models that can be replicated across NYC. The presentation also showcased historical grants and presented metrics from grantees that evidence the benefits of the program.
Missed the presentation? Find it here.