New York City Vows to Double Recycling Rate by 2017

Date: January 12, 2012

Source: New York City Mayor's Office

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced an ambitious plan to double the city's recycling rate by 2017. In his State of the City Address, the Mayor said the city would begin by "increasing recycling in schools and streets and expanding our plastics recycling program," which is expected to "reduce our waste disposal costs by $50 million annually and help protect the environment." He also said the city would "become one of the first cities in the country to turn wastewater into renewable energy" while exploring "the possibility of cleanly converting trash into renewable energy."


EXCERPT FROM MAYOR BLOOMBERG'S 2012 STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS
January 12, 2012

"Finally, if we're going to be the most innovative city in the world, we also have to be the greenest, because that's how you attract the most forward-looking individuals and companies. So today, we're announcing the next phase in three key areas of our PlaNYC environmental and infrastructure agenda: recycling, clean energy and clean air.

"To begin, we'll double the amount of residential waste we divert from landfills by 2017. By taking steps like increasing recycling in schools and streets and expanding our plastics recycling program, we'll reduce our waste disposal costs by $50 million annually and help protect the environment.

"We'll also become one of the first cities in the country to turn wastewater into renewable energy and we'll explore the possibility of cleanly converting trash into renewable energy. To attack air pollution, we'll overhaul the city's air quality codes, green our building and zoning codes and accelerate our work with property owners to phase-out dirty heating oils. All of this work will help move us closer to our goal of having the cleanest air of any large city in America.

Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin