PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lonnie Portis, New York City Policy Manager at WE ACT For Environmental Justice
2:53:12
·
128 sec
Lonnie Portis from WE ACT For Environmental Justice testified on the importance of waste diversion and refuse reduction in New York City's containerization efforts. He emphasized the need for thoughtful implementation that prioritizes waste separation and considers the unique needs of different communities.
- Expressed concern about 41% of NYC's refuse being organics sent to landfills and incinerators, impacting low-income communities of color outside the city
- Voiced support for Intro 498 (requiring DSNY to collect waste from community gardens) and Intro 698 (clarifying organic waste drop-off sites)
- Emphasized the need for a waste system grounded in environmental and climate justice, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach
Lonnie Portis
2:53:12
Okay.
2:53:12
Great.
2:53:13
Good afternoon, chair, Rayu and chair Juan.
2:53:16
Thanks for the opportunity to testify today.
2:53:18
I'm Lonnie Portis, the New York City policy manager at WE ACT For Environmental Justice.
2:53:22
WE ACT is a member of the State of our Compost New York City Coalition, Coalition of New York City Organizations working to support legislation that protects, strengthens, and expand community composting across the city while uplifting environmental climate justice.
2:53:35
I just want to say, although WEAG supports containerization, I want to remind ESY and the council that our goal needs to be waste diversion and refuse reduction, not just aesthetic and cleanliness.
2:53:45
41% of New York City's refuse consists of organics.
2:53:48
On average, this amounts about 1,100,000 tons of organics being sent to landfills and incinerators annually.
2:53:53
These landfills and incinerators are sited near low income and communities of color outside of New York City, and with that comes a host of environmental health and climate issues.
2:54:02
As we scale up containerization across the city, we must do it thoughtfully, prioritizing, incentivizing waste separation.
2:54:09
Currently, we are concerned that the city is going down a path where New Yorkers are going to separate not going to separate their waste and just toss everything into one bin, which is counterintuitive to the city's zero waste goals.
2:54:19
We recognize the complex the complexity of running and maintaining a waste system of this size.
2:54:23
However, we feel, any one size fits all approach will not work and that different communities within the city require different, sometimes unique solution due to the lack of physical infrastructure for waste.
2:54:33
Containerization is just a piece of a much larger waste system, and the city should take the opportunity to build a system and infrastructure that is grounded in environmental and climate adjusted.
2:54:42
I can't see how much time I have left, but I'll quickly close with our my testimony by voicing react support for intro 498 and 698.
2:54:50
Intro 498 requires department sensation to collect waste from community gardens.
2:54:54
This bill allows community gardens to increase their collection capacity and not turn away material that could end up, in the trash.
2:55:00
Although not addressed in this bill, there is some concern that the organic waste collected by DS and Y will not be turned into a compost for soil amendment, but instead sent to co digestion facilities.
2:55:10
Intro 698 clarifies the organic waste drop off sites for the purpose of complying with local
Shaun Abreu
2:55:15
time has expired.
Lonnie Portis
2:55:17
I will go ahead and I'll submit detailed, written testimony.
