TESTIMONY
Justin Wood, Director of Policy at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, on Sanitation, Composting, and Environmental Justice Policies in New York City
7:25:58
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153 sec
Justin Wood testified about the need for improved sanitation, composting, and environmental justice policies in New York City.
- Wood criticized the expiring solid waste management plan's lack of a strategy to use city marine and rail transfer stations for commercial waste.
- He supported Intro 55 of 2024 to utilize public infrastructure for some commercial waste, citing environmental justice goals.
- Wood expressed concerns over proposed cuts to the sanitation enforcement budget, which he considers crucial for public education, business compliance, and safety.
- He advocated for restoring the community composting program to increase waste diversion and enable comprehensive recycling, donation, and composting education.
Justin Wood
7:25:58
Good afternoon.
7:25:59
Thank you, Council member Holden and Chair Brennan for this opportunity for the public to speak at an executive budget hearing.
7:26:07
And thank you also for your independent analysis showing there's over a $1,000,000,000 being left on the table by this administration.
7:26:14
We're hearing so much today about the harm that ongoing austerity is doing to our city and to our future.
7:26:21
I wanna talk I'm Justin Wood.
7:26:22
I'm the director policy at New York lawyers for the public interest.
7:26:26
We're a member of the transform don't trash, New York City Coalition, and the Save Our Compose Coalition.
7:26:31
Wanted to start by talking a little bit about the commercial waste side of sanitation, which we heard a little bit, but not enough about today.
7:26:41
We're really concerned that it's 20 years into this current solid waste management plan, which is about to expire, and we still haven't heard a plan from DSNY to start accepting commercial waste trucks at the city's marine transfer and rail transfer stations that we've invested so much in.
7:26:59
So we wanna applaud the council and the sanitation committee for advancing intro 55 of 2024.
7:27:05
That's council member nurses bill.
7:27:07
That would finally 20 years after this important environmental justice equity goal that would reduce VMT and dangerous private sanitation trucks and EJ Communities finally began to use our public infrastructure to accept some commercial waste.
7:27:23
Relatedly, we see and we're troubled by cuts in the executive budget for enforcement and sanitation.
7:27:31
And we see enforcement as a key part of public education, business education, and safety.
7:27:41
And just last week, it was in the Daily News.
7:27:44
Another New Yorker lost their lives in a life in a fatal collision involving a private sanitation truck reversing illegally down a one way street in Manhattan.
7:27:56
That's deeply concerning that we're seeing reductions potentially to enforcement budgets at the same time.
7:28:02
Finally, we're in complete support of restoring the community composting program.
7:28:07
The city's diversion rate is going backward.
7:28:10
Sanitation just told us last week with a new waste characterization study.
7:28:15
We simply cannot do the all of government, all out public education, approach to both the commercial, residential, public space, recycling, donations, and composting.
7:28:27
That we need while we're cutting our local compost sites.
7:28:30
Thank you so much.