Q&A
Challenges in enforcing commercial organic recycling regulations
0:56:50
·
120 sec
Council Member Abreu questions DSNY about the enforcement of commercial organic waste recycling. Deputy Commissioner Goodman explains the difficulties in enforcement due to numerous loopholes and exemptions in the current law (Local Law 146 of 2013). He highlights the complexity of determining which businesses are required to comply based on factors like square footage, number of seats, and type of material sold.
- Current law has many exemptions, making enforcement challenging
- DSNY supports simplifying regulations to require all food waste-producing businesses to separate organics
- The commercial waste zone law provides financial incentives for businesses to separate organic waste, potentially reducing the need for enforcement
Shaun Abreu
0:56:50
In your testimony, you you commissioner, you you spoke about commercial source separation for organics.
0:56:58
Mhmm.
0:57:00
Certain commercial entities in New York City are required to separate and recycle their organic waste.
0:57:05
But many businesses do not comply, throwing out pounds and pounds of perfectly good food on a consistent basis.
0:57:12
Can you describe current DSNY enforcement operations on commercial organic recycling?
0:57:18
They're limited because the law has so many loopholes and carve outs.
0:57:22
Local law 146 of 2013
Joshua Goodman
0:57:24
makes it so difficult to know whether a business is legally required to comply.
0:57:30
There are some places that very clearly fall into the into the the covered bucket?
Shaun Abreu
0:57:36
What's the covered who covers that bucket?
Joshua Goodman
0:57:38
It's it's square footage.
0:57:39
It's number of seeds.
0:57:40
It's type of material sold.
0:57:42
Is it a restaurant?
0:57:43
Is it not a restaurant?
0:57:44
It's the it's at all the details at nyc.gov/commercialorganics.
0:57:48
But it is So when you look at this and you go, wow, this was the product of extremely complex negotiations between the Bloomberg administration and the council 11 years ago.
0:57:57
Like, you can look at it and just tell that it was written in a different time by a big group of people.
0:58:03
Whereas today, we all work together on universal programs.
0:58:07
We just wanna say, if you have food waste, you gotta separate it just like we do for residents.
0:58:13
And then I will say, This is a little bit different than enforcement, but it's a very important point about commercial organic separation.
0:58:22
You know, we're not afraid of enforcement.
0:58:24
We'll do as much as we have to do to get compliance.
0:58:26
But whenever we can offer a positive encouragement to do something, it's great.
0:58:32
Right?
0:58:32
Under the commercial waste own law, a business source separating its organics will actually save money.
0:58:38
Every pound of material that they put in their organic spin, instead of their trash bin, that is less money they are paying to their Carter.
0:58:44
So that's huge.
0:58:45
And it will really help mitigate the need for enforcement, although we are certainly willing to do enforcement as needed.
Shaun Abreu
0:58:50
How many businesses are currently subject to the requirement to our for organic waste separation
