| Renew New York ‐ Internal
|Public Space Recycling Although public space waste management in NYC appears to the person on the street as one system, it is really an array of different arrangements falling under the jurisdiction of different agencies, including DSNY, BIDs, Parks, DOT, MTA, PANYNJ, and those who maintain private/public spaces. Each agency has its own staff, trucks and methods. DSNY services over 25,000 street baskets that are concentrated in commercial areas. DSNY routs one truck to efficiently collect contents from large numbers of baskets several times a day. Baskets are unlined and are emptied up to five times a day. All residential and institutional refuse collected in New York City is exported outside of the City for final disposal. BIDs collaborate with DSNY to service some street baskets in their areas. The BID’s private workers empty baskets into specially marked BID bags and set them next to baskets for DSNY collection. Park parameters are serviced by DSNY and BIDs. There are no BID recycling programs. Parks and DOT maintenance staff are responsible for lining their baskets or cans with black bags, emptying items from them when they are full and replacing liners, and transporting bagged refuse to a location for collection by their own agency’s truck fleet on a regular schedule. DSNY’s 2004‐2005 Waste Characterization Study estimated that about 45% of waste from street baskets consists of materials designated for recycling.Efforts to recycle in the public space failed miserably in the 1990s. The 2007 Pilot Program Before beginning a Pilot for Public space recycling, the DSNY conducted a survey of other cities. The survey begins with London, and an explanation of London’s 33 “small” boroughs which each conduct their own sanitation program. In the survey, the DSNY focuses on the “Envirobank” units, which are strategically located and designed with small aperture; allowing for limited contamination. The DSNY also indicates that the units are locked, a problem for DSNY and its union. The survey worked with Senior Recycling Officer Gemma Scott of Camden and Recycling Manager Phil Robson of Westminster. In Spring 2007, the New York Department of Sanitation’s Bureau of Waste Prevention, Refuse and Recycling conducted a ‘Public Space Recycling Pilot’. Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling (BWPRR) plans, implements, and evaluates the Department’s recycling, composting, and waste prevention programs. The Bureau also manages the contracts to process the materials collected by DSNY’s recycling program. Much of BWPRR’s work is the promotion of recycling programs. The head of the Public Space Recycling Pilot program was DSNY Director Robert Lange (Lange has met with renew and is aware of its New York progress.) The pilot was conducted in coordination with the Department of Parks and Recreation (location of many of the bins) and the Department of Transportation. Due to DSNY union resistance, during the Pilot, Parks and DOT staff would have to empty recycling bins and consolidate material. DSNY contracted with an engineering firm to weigh, sort and classify the contents of recycling bins. The Pilot focused on Paper and commingled Metals, Glass and Plastic (MGP). The Pilot was in accordance with the city’s final Comprehensive Solid Waste
1
| Renew New York ‐ Internal Management Plan. The Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan created an initiative to develop a public space recycling pilot. Preliminary meetings during 2006 among the Mayor’s Office of Operations, Parks, DOT and DSNY identified sites in Parks and under sanitation jurisdiction of the DOT. The Pilot was conducted in all boroughs and Recycling receptacles were specially designed to convey a consistent message with the city’s existing residential recycling program for separate collection of Paper (Green) and Metals, Glass and Plastic (Blue). The receptacles were constructed out of heavy gauge steel. The total cost for 160 receptacles and bag liners for the pilot was $80,000 (thus receptacles cost between $400 and $500). Paired sets of these bins were placed in strategic locations to maximize the potential collection in each of the sites. Servicing the recycling bins added a layer of complexity to the existing waste management system and required collaboration between DSNY, Parks and DOT. Figure 1 – DSNY Public Space Recycling Receptacles. Source: DSNY. It was agreed that the daily maintenance of recycling bins placed within and at the perimeter of test parks, including emptying contents and replacing fresh bin lines, and consolidating material for weekly collection, would fall to Parks Department staff. In the ferry terminals, DOT facilities staff would have similar responsibilities, and would transport bagged recyclables to a collection location outside the terminals. DSNY would take charge of weekly collection of consolidated bags, and would supply receptacles, bin liners, and “other needed equipment.” Thus Parks and DOT would stockpile separately all recycling over a week, placing it in a designated site for collection at specific times. This increased labour and other operational costs. Table 1 – Recycling Pilot Program Responsibilities Supply Bags Empty Contents When Full Park Interior Park Perimeter Ferry Terminal Source: DSNY
DSNY DSNY DSNY
Parks Parks DOT
Replacing Fresh Bags
Parks Parks DOT
Differentiating Material by Bag Color Parks Parks DOT
Moving Full Bags to Collection Point Parks N/A DOT
Collecting & Recycling of Bag Contents DSNY DSNY DSNY
2
| Renew New York ‐ Internal Three separate pick‐ups were required (or two if a dual‐bin truck were used for MGP and Paper Collections). Pick‐ups were conducted on Tuesdays between 6AM and 8AM. In Manhattan, Union Square and Whitehall collections were done with one truck during the first week, and then two later in the Pilot. Collections were delivered to the Southwest Brooklyn Marine Transfer Station for characterization. Additionally, the public sometimes placed additional waste in bags adjacent to receptacles. The contents of the public space recycling containers were analyzed by a waste characterization consultant to determine the degree of contamination (amount of non‐recyclables placed in the public space recycling bins). DSNY then took the recyclables to the City's recycling vendors to be recycled, and discarded the remaining contaminants as refuse. Figure 2 – Map of Delivery to Southwest Brooklyn Marine Transfer Station
Source: Google Maps Special Events and an advertising campaign promoted and educated pedestrians about the program. Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated: “today, we are acting on our commitment to pursue new initiatives and enhance our recycling efforts, if this pilot program is successful, we hope to expand it to other parts of our city and raise our public space recycling to unprecedented levels. If all of us do our small part, we make a big difference for our City.” Union Square Partnership Executive Director Jennifer Falk showcased the recycling bins at one of the events as they were placed in her BID’s area. The Pilot found that public space recycling is best in downtown areas dense with commuters and lunching office crowds. The sites with the lowest contamination rates and the largest amounts collected were the ferry terminals, Union Square, and Columbus Park. In Whitehall ferry terminal, recycling baskets made up 50% of all sanitation baskets. These sites are characterized by heavy commuter use and are located in dense, downtown neighborhoods with large numbers of office workers who use the public space for lunch. In contrast, public space recycling was highly contaminated and yielded little material in residential parks frequented primarily by families and children. Such users are less likely to generate newspapers, bottles, and cans than are commuters and lunching office workers.
3
| Renew New York ‐ Internal Figure 3 – Locations of recycling Bins in Union Square and Whitehall Terminal
Source: DSNY Use of the bins clearly increased over the course of the pilot and there was a correlation between warm weather and collection. This was mostly due to higher footfall and pedestrian usage of parks (for lunch and recreation). The Pilot found that successful ongoing bin maintenance requires a dedicated, permanent staff that has been fully trained in procedures for keeping Paper and MGP separate, setting it out for collection, and has been equipped with clear bags as well as black bags. The main findings of the Report on the Pilot Program were: 1) “People understand and participate in paper recycling in public spaces;” 2) “Certain sites were more successful than others;” and 3) “Successful public space recycling requires ongoing bin maintenance.” Public Space Recycling – 2008 During the course of the Pilot, representatives from Parks conservancies throughout Manhattan, as well as the DOT’s Bridges division, expressed interest in hosting additional public space recycling receptacles. The DSNY 2007 Annual Report states: “Provided there is an agreement about shared maintenance responsibilities, it is in DSNY’s, and New York’s, interest to make the most of such offers and build on the momentum that the Pilot has gained so far.” The 2008 locations for the public space recycling containers were chosen in coordination with several city agencies (Sanitation, Transportation, and Parks & Recreation), as well as City Hall and the NYC Council. The participation of Transportation and Parks & Recreation on‐site maintenance staff was key to making the program work. They continually replaced bag liners so the bins were not overflowing, stored the separated paper and MGP over the course of the week, and properly placed the bags of recyclables in a designated spot for weekly collection. In Manhattan, there are public space recycling containers at Unions Square, Battery Park City (in Lower Manhattan) and at the Staten Island Ferry (in Lower Manhattan). Other DSNY literature states: “Future efforts should only be mounted in areas with permanent maintenance staff who are committed to working with DSNY collections on a long‐term basis.”
4
| Renew New York ‐ Internal NYC's public space recycling program collects the same materials as NYC's residential recycling program. The DSNY is currently collecting 700,000 tons of recyclables a year. Contrary to popular opinion, waste generated in public spaces is only a tiny fraction of residential, public maintenance, and commercial wastes overall. At present, the 2006 Solid Waste Management Plan specifies a goal of 25% diversion rate for the street basket, curbside and containerized waste streams combined. Since street basket refuse on dedicated routes only make up only 2.5% of all waste, that sets an absolute, theoretical limit on how much diversion could ever be achieved from the public space recycling under a scenario in which every scrap of street basket waste were diverted from disposal. While public space recycling won't raise the city's diversion rate by more than fraction of a percentage point, it is an important way to reinforce the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle message. The MTA has a public space recycling program. The MTA has placed large newspaper recycling bins in addition to regular refuse bins, but it does not supply recycling for bottles and cans. Rather than recycling bins, the agency has opted to privately contract for the removal and separation of recyclables post‐collection. As of today, MTA claims high diversion rates through this process. 125th Street BID is Conducting Public Space Recycling In 2005, Barbara Askins, President and CEO of the 125th Street BID, lobbied the City of New York on behalf of her BID and Outdoor Partner Media to deploy Partnerbins with advertising in the confines of the 125th Street BID. Initial requests were made to DSNY directly and through the SBS. Askins asked to be allowed to collect advertising revenue from Outdoor Partner Media and collect recyclables. Several letters of request were reviewed by DOT and the process lasted approximately nine months and required persistence by Askins. In July 2006, the 125th Street BID was granted a revocable right for a one‐year pilot program for 50 (ultimately 31 were installed) Partnerbins. Recycling was denied and there were several design changes required of the Partnerbin. The City is paid 50% of all revenues collected by the 125th Street BID. There are separate reduced advertising rates for local business. Askins placed pictures of local people on the bins and has credited this with a significant reduction in vandalism. The right has been expanded to a further 125 Partnerbins and 15 more will be deployed in 2008. In 2008, Askins renewed negotiations with DSNY to introduce recycling in Harlem as an extension of the DSNY. DSNY has agreed to test daily pickups of recyclables from two Harlem locations. Beginning in July 2008, the BID will bag, tie and place recyclable bags at the side of two Partnerbins which were designed for recycling. Askins is currently in negotiations with DSNY for a further expansion of this test. Paper Recyclables in New York City In New York City, public space recycling works well for newspaper and other recyclable paper. Participation in the Pilot program was, on average, good for paper recycling, and the material placed in the paper bins was relatively free of non‐recyclable trash (contamination). Overall, the contamination rate was less than 5%. The result in Manhattan was even better. Between Union Square and Whitehall Terminal, the contamination rate was 3.4% with no major variability. Contamination was slightly lower in Union Square as compared with Whitehall Terminal, which contrasted to the results for the city wide
5
| Renew New York ‐ Internal pilot. Higher paper collection coming into Manhattan was observed at the Ferry Terminals. Pedestrian tended to use paper recycling bins at the perimeters of parks more than those sited in interiors. New York City has a variety of local options to recycle the paper it collects from residents, agencies, and institutions. The Department of Sanitation maintains contracts with various local NYC paper processors that have been in the paper recycling business for generations. The DSNY currently has paper processing contracts with the following companies: A&R Lobosco, Inc; Potential Industries, Inc. (subcontractor is Metropolitan Paper Recycling); Paper Fibres Corp; Rapid Recycling; Triboro Fibers; and Visy Paper of New York. Approximately half the paper that the DSNY collects for recycling goes to these five processors. To keep track of tonnage, Sanitation trucks weigh in before delivering paper. The paper processors then separate the paper into various grades to sell on the open market. The majority of the paper received by these processors is sold for export. The remaining paper that the DSNY collects for recycling goes to the Visy paper mill on Staten Island. Visy receives paper at two locations: 59th Street Marine Transfer Station (MTS) and their own plant on Staten Island. Visy uses the commingled mix of papers (newspapers, corrugated cardboard, magazines, and other papers) delivered by DSNY trucks and barges to produce linerboard for corrugated cardboard packaging products. The recyclable paper the DSNY brings to Visy comes from Staten Island, Manhattan, and parts of Brooklyn. To reduce truck traffic, the Department uses barges to transport Manhattan's paper recyclables to the Visy mill. This facility also accepts commercial paper contracted by Visy Paper. The yearly total accepted at 59th Street is 154,706 tons. This is broken down as follows: 98,420 tons from DSNY trucks and 56,286 tons collected from private vendors. All this material is transported to Visy Paper’s facility by DSNY barges. Metal, Glass, and Plastic (MGP) Recyclables in New York City In New York City, bottle and can recycling in public spaces is problematic. In contrast to paper during the Pilot, contamination rates for bottle and can recycling were very high (almost 37%), and tonnages were lower than Paper recycling tonnages at all sites. Rates in Manhattan were slightly better, at nearly 35%. Contamination in Union Square was significantly better at 26%; as compared with Whitehall Terminal, which recorded a 43% contamination rate. As with paper, higher collection coming into Manhattan was observed at the Ferry Terminals. DSNY has one vendor for all metal, glass and plastic items and metal bulk that it collects. Sims Hugo Neu operates three acceptance facilities in the Bronx, Long Island City, Queens and Jersey City, New Jersey. The company and the city are currently in the process of negotiating a twenty year contract. As part of that contract, a fourth acceptance and processing facility will be constructed in Brooklyn (South Brooklyn Marine Terminal). The completed facility will further minimize truck traffic because it will be capable of receiving barged materials and shipping out processed materials via both barge and rail. To help New Yorkers understand the recycling process, the company plans to construct a visitor education center on the site. Contract negotiations continued in 2007 with Hugo Neu Schnitzer East, the winner of DSNY’s 2005 Request for Proposal, to accept, process, and market designated metal, glass, and plastic recyclables. When the contract is finalized, the city will have a long‐term infrastructure in place to handle recyclables currently collected, as well as new types of recyclables in the future. Currently operating in New York and New Jersey as Simsmetal East, LLC, the company has brought a wealth of resources to the city,
6
| Renew New York ‐ Internal already evident in enhanced facility designs and the introduction of state‐of‐the‐art, fully automated processing equipment. The Sims Group is the largest metal recycler in the US and operates 38 facilities nation‐wide. While Simsmetal East continues to process MGP under its interim contract with the city, the cost of processing MGP in 2007 was virtually identical with the City’s cost in 2006, just under $13 million, even though tonnage fell by over four percent (the contract includes an adjustment for inflation that offsets the fall in tonnage). Sims Hugo Neu uses their waterfront facilities to accept, process, and then transport NYC's recyclables, which minimizes truck traffic on busy city streets. The city is negotiating a long‐term government‐to‐government agreement with PANYNJ to accept and process MSW from certain Manhattan waste sheds at the PANYNJ’s Essex County Resource Recovery Facility and dispose of the residue after processing the MSW. Plan 2030 & Public Space Recycling During the Mayor’s second administration, he indoctrinated several green policies through two major plans. In December 2006, the mayor issued PlaNYC, or “2030”, which set 10 key goals for the city’s sustainable future. PlaNYC, while not addressing public space recycling directly, is an indication that a constructive yet realistic consideration of expansion of environmental policies is warranted at this time in New York City. For the DSNY, the Mayor’s programs have been focused on the reduction of carbon pollutants through reducing export truck capacity (towards bardge and closer locations) and migrating DSNY’s fleet towards less carbon producing vehicles. The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF) assessed progress made on PlaNYC over the past year. The report evaluated the administration’s response to eight main areas: air and energy, water, sustainable agriculture, transportation, green jobs, green procurement, solid waste and land use. The biggest disappointment came from the mayor’s handling of solid waste: “Of all the areas outlined in our 2007 Sustainability Agenda, the Bloomberg administration’s performance is weakest in the field of solid waste.” The League criticized the mayor for not supporting broad enough recycling measures. The Solid Waste Management Plan & Public Space Recycling Due to scale, New York City has the largest recycling program in the US. All 3 million households, plus public schools and institutions, receive recycling collection by the Department of Sanitation. All commercial businesses are required to keep separate certain recyclable materials prior to their collection by their private carters. With recycling in‐place, the mayor and DSNY issued the 2006 20‐year Solid Waste Management Plan to improve the environment by switching solid waste export from trucks to barge and rail transportation, increasing recycling and reducing waste and pollution. “To meet the ambitious goals in our landmark Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP), we need to increase recycling rates," said Mayor Bloomberg. The Solid Waste Management Plan requires the Mayor and the City Council to create a Compost Facility Siting Task Force to identify sites for additional composting facilities and to enable the testing of new technologies for waste disposal. Present recommendations to the Mayor and the City Council by July 1, 2008 on sites that should be the subject of further review. A major goal of the SWMP is to take trucks off the road and thereby reduce diesel–truck emissions in the city. The DSNY negotiated a contract for
7
| Renew New York ‐ Internal the acceptance and processing of recyclables at a new in‐city facility on the Brooklyn Waterfront. Southwest Brooklyn Marine Transfer Station is part of the newly approved Plan, but there is significant pubic criticism and a petition. The unique arrangement involved close coordination with the City’s Economic Development Corporation and City Corporation Counsel’s Office prepared the necessary ground lease, funding and services agreement. Commissioner John J. Doherty (Doherty met with Renew in 2005 and encouraged Renew to speak with the BIDs) in the DSNY 2007 Annual Report stated: “The Department has always been open to new and developing technologies that not only make our daily mission of collecting refuse and recycling, and keep our streets clean, more efficient, but also environmentally sound. I am honored to say that Sanitation, the original ‘Green Team’ that meets and exceeds all current environmental requirements and regulations for its vehicles, has its eye on future ‘green’ initiatives.” DSNY will be one of the first fleets in the nation to test a pre‐production hybrid refuse collection truck on city streets Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association Based in Lower Manhattan, the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association is a powerful union which organizes the workers of DSNY. Harry Nespoli is the President of the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association. The lobbyist for the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association is the law firm Pitta, Bishop, Del Giorno & Dreier LLP. Findings: 1. During the course of the Pilot, representatives from Parks conservancies throughout Manhattan, as well as the DOT’s Bridges division, expressed interest in hosting additional public space recycling receptacles. This was approved for 2008. The DSNY’s 2007 Annual Report states: “Provided there is an agreement about shared maintenance responsibilities, it is in DSNY’s, and New York’s, interest to make the most of such offers and build on the momentum that the Pilot has gained so far.” 2. The public space recycling program is only possible due to Parks and DOT empting recycling bins and consolidating materials. Areas not covered by Parks and DOT will need a similar agreement between with DSNY due to the DSNY’s unions refusal to change procedure. The Bid will have to empty contents from bins, replace bags, differentiate material by bag, move full bags to a collection point, and possibly store full bags for up to one week. 3. The 125th Street BID has achieved right of way for 156 advertising Partnerbins, two of which DSNY is picking up daily recycling from. The 125th Street BID is negotiating with DSNY for a further expansion of Public Space Recycling through Partnerbins in its area. 4. Significant branding for the Pilot Program may cause DSNY to resist the design of Renew. But based on findings from the DSNY’s Pilot Program, where public space recycling is best in downtown areas dense with commuters and lunching office crowds, it is arguable that little education is needed in the focused areas where Renew will deploy. The sites with the lowest
8
| Renew New York ‐ Internal contamination rates and the largest amounts collected were the ferry terminals, Union Square, and Columbus Park. These sites are characterized by heavy commuter use and are located in dense, downtown neighborhoods with large numbers of office workers who use the public space for lunch. In contrast, public space recycling was highly contaminated and yielded little material in residential parks frequented primarily by families and children. 5. Mayor’s Office of Operations was key in identifying and negotiating public space recycling. Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated goal is to: “raise our public space recycling to unprecedented levels”. The mayor has also stated: “To meet the ambitious goals in our landmark Solid Waste Management Plan, we need to increase recycling rates." 6. Traditional BID standards where closed bags and other publically placed bags are placed adjacent to receptacles will have to be controlled through the maintenance contract. Common pubic practice of placing closed bags next to recycling receptacles will call for increased maintenance.
9
| Renew New York ‐ Internal APPENDIX I. Collection Results of the Pilot for Only Manhattan Paper Results Site Contaminantion Park Manhattan Union Square Perimeter 3.4% Interior 2.2% Total 3.2% Ferry Terminals Whitehall Interior 3.5% Totals
3.4%
Total Collected (lbs)
Number of Bins
Weeks
Total Bags
Av. Weight per Bag
Bags per Week
Bags per Day (6 days)
per Day per Bin
7374.3 800.7 8175
16 2 18
12 12 12
332 51 383
22.21 15.70 21.34
27.7 4.3 31.9
4.6 0.7 5.3
0.29 0.35 0.30
10359.0
9
12
642
16.14
53.5
8.9
0.99
18534.0
27
12
1025
18.08
85.4
14.2
0.53
Metal, Glass & Plastics Results Site Contaminantion Park Manhattan Union Square Perimeter 27.4% Interior 22.9% Total 26.8% Ferry Terminals Whitehall Interior 42.9% Totals
34.7%
Total Collected (lbs)
Number of Bins
Weeks
Total Bags
Av. Weight per Bag
Bags per Week
Bags per Day (6 days)
per Day per Bin
5167.6 721.2 5888.8
16 2 18
12 12 12
386 58 444
13.39 12.43 13.26
32.2 4.8 37.0
5.4 0.8 6.2
0.34 0.40 0.34
5667.0
9
12
597
9.49
49.8
8.3
0.92
11555.8
27
12
1041
11.10
86.8
14.5
0.54
10