NEW YORK (1010 WINS) State Senator Brad Hoylman introduced a new bill that would require cities in New York with a population over one million to provide a composting service to all residential buildings.
The bill was crafted in reaction to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ preliminary budget that proposed $18.2 million in cuts to the Department of Sanitation New York budget and would cancel expansion of the agency’s fledgling compost program.
“New York needs to make landscapes, not landfills,” said Hoylman. “Every year New York City’s homes produce one million tons of organic waste that could be reused in a sustainable way.”
Hoylman pointed out in a press release announcing the bill that the proposed budget cut would amount to 0.35% of the NYPD’s proposed budget. The cut to DSNY amounts to about 1% of the sanitation department’s 2021 budget of $1.83 billion.
Hoylman also emphasized the environmental benefits an expanded composting program would bring to New York City.
“Right now we’re letting all this waste go to waste, instead of composting it. It’s sitting in landfills, where the organic waste produces methane, one of the worst greenhouse gasses,” said the state senator for District 27 in Manhattan. “Let’s bring composting to every home in NYC and bring NYC closer to its own internal goals of reducing waste by 90% by 2030.”
Organic waste isn’t exposed to oxygen in a landfill, which leads to the production of methane gas. Composting allows bacteria to break down the organic waste into nutrient rich soil and doesn’t produce methane, which is a greenhouse gas that leads to climate change.
City Councilmember Sandy Nurse also announced her opposition to the DSNY budget cuts and called for expansion of the composting program.
“Sanitation affects public safety, public health, and environmental outcomes in every single neighborhood across the City,” said Nurse. “A continued reduction of essential sanitation services in the Mayor’s preliminary budget is unacceptable given our increasingly dirty streets, burgeoning rat problem, and their impact on the quality of life for all New Yorkers.”
Adams will have to earn the City Council’s approval to pass his budget.
"This is a preliminary budget that can change, but we must find more efficient and cost effective methods to pick up this waste in ways that meet our sustainability goals," said a spokesperson for Adams. "As we review Senator Hoylman’s new bill, New Yorkers should trust that our administration is committed to transforming the city’s quality of life and fighting climate change.”
The DSNY declined to comment on the proposed budget cuts or Holyman’s bill.
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