TESTIMONY
Erik Menjivar, Member of the GrowNYC Workers Collective, on the Defunding of GrowNYC's Zero Waste Programs
6:50:47
·
159 sec
Menjivar testifies about the impacts of defunding GrowNYC's Zero Waste Programs, including community composting and zero waste schools initiatives.
- He highlights the programs' success in diverting millions of pounds of food scraps from landfills through community contributions.
- Menjivar demands restoration of funding for the NYC Compost Project and expedited contract processing to resume operations quickly.
- Despite criticism from the Department of Sanitation about inefficiency, he emphasizes the logic and benefits of community composting.
- This marks his last day testifying as a composting worker, but he plans to continue advocating as a union member and GrowNYC worker.
Erik Menjivar
6:50:47
Good afternoon, Chair Brennan, and members of the sanitation and finance committees, as well as council members who are being discharged virtually such a who may be JR Biryu as well as my councilwoman, Vicki Paladino.
6:50:59
Thank you for this opportunity for me to testify.
6:51:02
My name is Ericman Hebar, a member proud member of the Bergen Committee of the Groen YC Workers Collective, represented by our WDSU.
6:51:10
One of my roles in Grand Ysee is Compass Coronator as part of 0 waste program that was defunded this past December.
6:51:16
That job, however, and then just a few hours ago with our final delivery of food scraps to earth matter, another organization in Paraguay was also impacted by the budget cuts.
6:51:26
In our history, community composting has diverted over £25,000,000 of food scraps from landfills, thanks to at least 3,000,000 contributions from this on the residents of New York City, and we're processing the compost that has benefited our communities.
6:51:42
Our demands remain the same as when I first testified last year, We demand the restoration of funding not only of the New York City Compass program, but to all zero waste programs.
6:51:51
We need 0 the zero waste schools program to educate children on efficient solutions such as composting and to empower them to to change the culture or regarding composting, We also need our Stop and Shop program to provide our communities access to material assistance, but they might not find elsewhere and to divert resources from landfills.
6:52:12
The best plan for sustainable infrastructure, if that is what the city wants, is the collaboration of local organizations who collect food scraps.
6:52:21
Process them, and provide compost for our parks, homes, and gardens.
6:52:25
Instead building off of this infrastructure with the curbside collections, in December, our mere funded this program, jeopardizing the progress made in the last few years in sustainability.
6:52:34
Time and time again, we have heard disparaging comments from the Department of Sanitation and to the officials in this very room.
6:52:41
The call are work inefficient.
6:52:43
There's no inefficiency.
6:52:44
There is no pseudoscience.
6:52:46
There is nothing logical.
6:52:48
I will tell you what is a logical, eliminate community composting, and thinking that people will simply adapt to a system in which food scraps are not guaranteed to be composted.
6:52:56
And the best answer what the Yosumai has is beneficial use.
6:53:00
To best serve the needs of our communities, The city council must advocate the restoration of funding for the New York City Compass Project Act for the bus for the 2024.
6:53:10
Budget as well as expediting the contract process and RFP process to bring back operations quickly.
6:53:16
This is my last day testifying as a compass worker while I continue to advocate as the member of the union and as a worker for Grandway City.
6:53:24
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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Nathalie Huang, Member of the GrowNYC Workers Collective, on Layoffs and Budget Cuts Impacting the Compost Program and Zero Waste Initiatives
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Arif Sunmonu, Government Affairs Lead at GrowNYC, on the Impact of Budget Cuts on Community Composting and Zero Waste Programs