Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
      • 2022 class
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. The Plastics Blog
April 19, 2010 02:00 AM

NYC wants more plastics recycling

Don Loepp
Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    New York newspapers like the idea of boosting the city's plastics recycling efforts. PlasticsNews.com reported last week on the proposal, dubbed Local Law 19, ("NYC may accept all rigid plastics for recycling"). The proposal would be the first significant expansion to recycling in the city since the program was introduced in 1989. Under the proposals, the city will open a new recycling facility in Brooklyn capable of accepting all rigid plastics, not just the PET and high density polyethylene containers currently accepted. In addition, access to recycling bins in public spaces will double in the next three years, and city-wide textile recycling and household hazardous waste collection programs will be offered. Today two leading publications in New York editorialized on behalf of the plan. Crain's New York Business called the plan "A real boost for recycling," and said in part:

    The record of recycling in New York City has not been particularly impressive. Before 1989, when curbside recycling was mandated, it was left to scrappy entrepreneurs and environmentalists to collect bottles and newspapers. The new municipal program represented a leap forward, but it was surpassed long ago by other cities' efforts. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ill-fated suspension of the recycling effort in 2002 in order to pare the budget broke the program's momentum and ultimately cost more than it saved. New Yorkers eventually returned to the habit of recycling, but we still aren't very good at it. Our mentality, after decades of unlimited trash collection, is that government should haul off whatever is plopped on the curb, no questions asked. ... Now the good news. The City Council has come up with a belated but welcome solution: All rigid plastics shall be recycled. Give us your tired, your poor, your Chinese takeout containers! Old socks, too. They and other unwanted clothes can be dropped into special bins to be installed citywide--a promising way to capture recyclable textiles, which make up 10% of the waste stream. Legislation has been introduced and is expected to pass next month. We urge Mr. Bloomberg to sign it into law without too much tinkering. Adding materials to the city's recycling load won't increase collection costs, because recycling trucks are now returning from their routes half-empty. Meanwhile, trucks collecting regular garbage will have less to pick up, so the Department of Sanitation could wring some savings out of that. But the real economic and environmental benefits will come from diverting more plastic and clothing from landfills to the recycling market. That's the kind of trash talk all New Yorkers want to hear.
    The New York Daily News also editorialized in favor of adding more plastics to the city's recycling effort. The column, "Just one word: Plastics: Plan to simplify recycling sounds like a good idea," laments that "Trash recycling is one of the overbearing hassles of life in New York City: You can do plastic bottles or jugs that have a 1 or a 2 on the bottom, as long as the mouth isn't wider than the bottom. Got that? And remember, no yogurt containers!"
    City Council Speaker Christine Quinn says she has a better way. Pretty much all household plastic can be recycled, Quinn says, and it can be done economically. She contends that recycling it would cost the city less than shipping it out to landfills with the waste. The Sanitation Department says it will have to examine Quinn's proposals to see if the economies hold up. If we can recycle more while spending - and hassling - less, that's great. If not, toss the idea with the trash.
    Here's hoping New York can achieve a cost-effective recycling plan that can significantly boost the volume of material that residents can recycle. The plastics industry has long made the case that most (if not all...) plastics are recyclable. Here's an opportunity to prove it. Let's not drop the ball.
    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Plastics News journalists honored for outstanding work
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Private equity buyer HIG outbids rivals for Avient's distribution unit
    2
    More volatility for North American PS, ABS resin prices
    3
    APR: US recyclers have capacity to grow, but not enough feedstock
    4
    Industry asks court to quash Canada's single-use plastics ban
    5
    Industry's newest concern: Public opposition to plastics recycling
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright Ā© 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
          • 2022 class
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified