New Yorkers Are Recycling Less, Sanitation Survey Finds
Just under half of paper and cardboard that could be recycled is, and about 41 percent of glass, metal and plastic, according to the study. [This article was originally published by THE CITY, a not for profit news site covering NYC on April 4].
New Yorkers are recycling less and the material is more contaminated than in previous years.
That’s according to a new study by the Department of Sanitation, which examined what’s in the waste stream during the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023.
In New York City, there are two streams of curbside recycling: one for paper and cardboard, and another for plastic, glass metal and cartons.
Rates of the recyclable material properly recycled — that is, put into the correct bin instead of the trash — has declined about 2% since 2017, the last time DSNY conducted the study.
Just under half of paper and cardboard that could be recycled is, and about 41% of glass, metal and plastic that could be recycled is, according to the study.
New York households on average recycled almost 10% less paper and cardboard material by weight compared to 2017. Plastic, glass and metal recycled by weight remained nearly unchanged since 2017, though it saw a nearly 30% leap compared to 2013, when DSNY began accepting all rigid plastics in recycling.
The study chalked up the changes to consumer behavior changes, like people buying fewer newspapers, as well as design changes that have reduced the amount of material in packages.
Joshua Goodman, DSNY’s deputy commissioner of public affairs and customer experience, called the changes “negligible.”
“We always want to see improvement on that and remind all residential property owners, tenants and supers the role we have in properly sorting recyclables,” he said.
Contamination of both recycling streams — which occurs when food, film plastic and other non-recyclable materials get into recycling streams — has also increased over time, the study showed.
Paper recycling contamination went up almost 6% since 2017 and almost doubled since 2013. For plastic, glass and recycling, the contamination increased nearly 9% since 2017 and 2% since 2013.
Goodman emphasized that recycling processors can eliminate most contamination on the back end — a point a sustainability expert echoed.
“Contamination is not great, but we have the best facilities in the U.S. that sort our material really well,” said Clare Miflin, director of the Center for Zero Waste Design. “I think the main problem is just getting more of the recycling into the recycling bin.”
Dior St. Hillaire, founder of the sustainability organization GreenFeen, said there needs to be more education tailored to individual communities.
“People still don’t know what goes in recycling bins,” she said.
In all, the total waste stream coming from New York City homes and apartments comprises about 32% recyclable material like glass, paper, plastic and metal, 36% organic material, 7% materials that could be diverted from the trash like textiles and e-waste and 25% other materials.
Overall, New Yorkers on average are tossing about 4% less trash by weight compared to 2017, the study found.
A state bill to require manufacturers to reduce material in packaging and take responsibility for end-of-life disposal or recycling of their products could save DSNY about $150 million a year on its recycling program — and could help decrease what gets tossed.
“That would reduce recyclable material set out based on how much is produced,” Goodman said. “It’s not ending up in the trash because it’s not being produced in the first place.”