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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Maggie Clarke, Committee Chair of Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board
3:15:04
ยท
141 sec
Maggie Clarke, a long-time member of the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board, advocates for waste prevention and reuse programs in New York City. She emphasizes the need for characterization studies to understand the potential for reuse and prevention of consumer goods and unrecyclable packaging.
- Supports waste characterization studies for recyclables and organics, but highlights the lack of focus on waste prevention and reuse
- Urges the council to fund studies on reusable and repairable consumer goods, as well as unrecyclable packaging
- Emphasizes that reducing generation of goods and food is 70 times more beneficial for the environment compared to reducing export to landfills and incinerators
Maggie Clarke
3:15:04
I'm Maggie Clark, PhD, and, thank you for having this hearing.
3:15:10
I'm a long time member since 1988 of the Manhattan SWAB, committee chair, past chair.
3:15:18
The council approved waste characterization studies to tell us how much and where the recyclables and organics are generated in the city so that you can site and size infrastructure properly, which is great.
3:15:31
We support it.
3:15:33
But, the city, is not, their their studies have never been designed to develop a municipal waste prevention and reuse program.
3:15:46
And they're they're falling down miserably in that area.
3:15:51
We need to have that kind of program with curbside collection of reusables and repair infrastructure.
3:15:58
We've got all of this outlined in writing, which we can send you.
3:16:03
EPA's solid waste hierarchy has prevention reuse as the highest priority above recycling and composting.
3:16:11
According to World Resources Institute, reducing generation of goods and food is 70 times as beneficial for the environment and the climate compared to reducing export to landfills and incinerators with recycling.
3:16:27
So, to comply with the city's new zero waste laws and the state's climate law, we must understand reuse and prevention potential here in the city.
3:16:39
Therefore, we urge the council to develop and fund reuse and prevention characterization studies of the types, distribution, quantity, condition and repaired value of reusable and repairable consumer goods like clothing, furniture, appliances, electronics, books and toys, as well as types of unrecyclable packaging like fused paper, plastic and or metal packaging that would be candidates for a legislative ban.
3:17:11
Calculating the potential value per ton of reusable items and prevention would make clear how much we could save versus export costs and losing that embedded value to incinerators and landfills.
Shaun Abreu
3:17:25
Thank you very much.