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New York City Council
Oversight - Waste Valorization & the Circular Economy
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
Council staff welcomes attendees to the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management hearing, asks everyone to silence electronics, and instructs those wishing to testify to fill out appearance cards with the Sergeant at Arms.
Councilmember Justin Sanchez opens the hearing, apologizes for his delay, introduces himself as committee chair, and recognizes the committee members present including Thomas-Henry, Zhuang, Hanif, Louis, and Ung.
Sanchez explains the hearing covers oversight of DSNY and BIC waste valorization efforts, plus two bills (Intro 256 on textile recycling study, Intro 970 on nightlife district street cleaning) and two resolutions (Res 122 on community composting in parks, Res 362 on bottle bill expansion).
Committee counsel administers the truth oath to the agency witnesses before testimony. Commissioner Gregory Anderson and accompanying DSNY and DEP staff affirm to tell the truth.
DSNY Commissioner Gregory Anderson introduces his team and traces the history of recycling in NYC from 19th-century rag pickers through Local Law 19 of 1989, describing the evolution from take-make-waste to modern recycling and composting programs.
Anderson describes DSNY's 24-million-pound daily collection, public-private partnerships like the Staten Island Compost Facility and Sunset Park Materials Recovery Facility, and the forthcoming 2026 Solid Waste Management Plan (SWAMP) guiding future resource recovery.
Anderson highlights textiles as 5% of the waste stream, current drop-off programs, and interest in private-sector mass-market solutions. He also discusses lithium battery disposal dangers and the need for producer responsibility to keep sanitation workers safe.
Anderson advocates for EPR laws shifting recycling costs from taxpayers to manufacturers, noting NYC could receive over $100 million annually. He urges Albany to pass packaging EPR legislation and thanks the Council for prior support.
Anderson expresses support for the intent of Intro 256 (textile recycling study) and describes current textile diversion programs. On Intro 970 (nightlife district cleaning), DSNY supports the intent and looks forward to discussing specific neighborhoods and resources needed.
Sanchez announces that former committee counsel Morgan Barrett has moved on and introduces Samia Schell as the new committee counsel, asking for a round of applause. He also notes Councilmember Santosuosso has arrived.
Sanchez asks whether DSNY's waste categorization by product type remains effective and whether the agency is exploring new categorization methods. Anderson says the current approach works well because it aligns with remanufacturing markets and will be refined in the next waste characterization study.
Sanchez asks how DSNY prepares for new waste types like lithium-ion batteries. Anderson emphasizes that EPR for packaging would force companies to design for end-of-life, and notes DSNY is often reactive to new products but works with partners to identify emerging waste streams.
Sanchez raises the challenge of limited space for composting. Anderson explains composting is space-intensive, DSNY supports community composters, and the best opportunity for industrial-scale composting is on Rikers Island as jails close.
Sanchez asks about expanding food donation efforts, the Donate NYC portal, and food waste estimates from restaurants. Anderson says the Mayor's Office of Food Policy leads food rescue, the portal is not productive, and resources are better spent on capacity building for nonprofits. Kate Kitchener provides tonnage data.
Sanchez notes DSNY collected 187,000 tons of textile waste but diverted only 4.3%, asking about historical difficulties and program utilization. Anderson explains the in-building textile collection program has about 2,500 enrolled buildings, is voluntary, and faces challenges from informal reuse that can't be measured.
Sanchez asks about business compliance with textile rules given businesses produce roughly 10% of textile waste. Anderson says DSNY lacks good data on commercial textile recovery but hopes a future commercial waste characterization study after commercial waste zones rollout will provide insights.
Sanchez asks about alternatives to rock salt for de-icing and new technologies beyond anaerobic digestion. Anderson says alternatives like CMA are 10-20x more expensive and not available at scale, and discusses pyrolysis as a proven technology for hard-to-recycle materials needing rigorous scientific analysis.
Thomas-Henry asks how businesses are made aware of the textile recycling program. Kate Kitchener explains the program is primarily residential but DSNY does outreach to certain business types like laundromats.
Thomas-Henry raises rampant illegal dumping of mattresses and appliances in her district, asking about disposal sites and mitigation plans. Anderson explains DSNY no longer operates self-help sites, residential pickup is available 2-3 times weekly, and identifies a gap for small-scale construction waste disposal.
Thomas-Henry requests marketing materials for residents and small contractors on proper disposal methods. Anderson confirms DSNY has materials for both and offers to share them with her office.
Thomas-Henry raises litter concerns from her children and asks about fines and proactive anti-litter efforts. Anderson shares the frustration, emphasizes building community pride and ownership, and notes the Council reduced littering fines around 2019, expressing openness to increasing them.
Vernikov asks what policies could encourage developers and contractors to reuse materials rather than dispose of them. Anderson references the draft SWAMP and work with EDC on deconstruction incentives. Jennifer McDonald details preliminary recoverable materials and an upcoming workshop with capital construction agencies.
Vernikov raises health concerns about plastics, citing her father's plastics factory background, and asks about particular plastic packaging types of concern. Anderson discusses PFAS and forever chemicals but defers health questions to the Health Department, noting DSNY's expertise is in collection and remanufacturing.
Louis asks whether DSNY plans to promote bulk pickup services, noting most homeowners in her district are unaware. Anderson agrees it's a great idea and offers to work with her office on an education campaign, noting some bulk education was done during the composting rollout.
Louis asks about pilot composting sites removed from Flatbush Junction and East Flatbush in January, requesting help restoring or expanding composting. Anderson offers to work with her and reiterates universal curbside composting is available citywide.
Sanchez asks about other islands or city-owned land for composting. Anderson says most other islands have environmental protections or federal ownership restrictions, and DSNY is also exploring regional options outside NYC with private industry.
Sanchez asks about wet textile recyclability and curbside collection concerns given containerization. Anderson clarifies DSNY hasn't called textiles unrecyclable but notes two failed curbside pilots—rain damage and low demand—and suggests the next waste characterization study as the appropriate venue for further exploration.
Sanchez asks about the 2,500 enrolled buildings, average bin counts per building, and bin locations. Anderson explains larger buildings may have multiple bins, most need one, bins are in basements or trash rooms, and pickups occur on demand when bins are full.
Sanchez asks about outreach to property owners and requests a breakdown of textile waste collected by participant category. Anderson describes standard apartment building outreach covering multiple programs and says DSNY will provide the data.
Sanchez asks about the timeline for a small residential building textile pilot and the collection partner. Kate Kitchener says they hope to pilot within a year and the partner is Helpsy, a B Corp.
Sanchez asks why textile bins seem emptier after switching from Housing Works to DSNY's program. Kitchener explains Housing Works was a nonprofit offering tax write-offs while Helpsy is a B Corp that cannot, but Helpsy collects more frequently. Anderson adds Housing Works struggled with logistics at scale.
Sanchez asks whether DSNY tracks abandoned delivery courier bags and can hold companies responsible. Anderson says DSNY doesn't formally track them, is exploring existing enforcement tools, and is open to working with the Council on new tools if needed.
Santosuosso asks why buildings reject textile bins and about incentives for participation. Kitchener cites stairs and space as barriers and mentions exploring smaller containers. Santosuosso notes no Helpsy drop-off sites in Bay Ridge and asks about incentives like sanitation credits. Anderson suggests continuing nonprofit donations for tax write-offs and offers to brainstorm creative incentives.
Santosuosso asks about gaps and approaches to corner dumping on litter baskets. Anderson identifies challenges in mixed commercial-residential streets without space for official bins, proposes shared Empire bins with access cards, and notes DSNY already has enforcement tools but needs resources.
Thomas-Henry asks whether an EIS will be done for Rikers composting and flags traffic concerns through residential neighborhoods and LaGuardia Airport operations. Anderson says environmental review will be part of the process and DSNY would explore waterway transport to minimize impacts.
Thomas-Henry notes a recurring theme that residents are unaware of DSNY programs and urges creative marketing campaigns, praising DSNY staff member Frank. Anderson responds that DSNY lacks a public education or advertising budget and would like to work with the Council on budget requests for marketing.
Sanchez asks about Intro 970, requesting headcounts for the targeted neighborhood task force and precision cleaning initiative, and whether they overlap. Anderson says the programs now operate as fungible resources without specific schedules, deployed based on identified cleaning needs.
Sanchez asks about late-night and early-morning street cleaning frequency. Anderson says overnight litter basket service is effective, but Sunday coverage is lower because it requires double-time overtime outside the regular Monday-Saturday work week.
Sanchez asks about staggering worker schedules to cover Sundays. Anderson explains workers already stagger across six days but making Sunday a regular workday would require labor negotiations with the Teamsters in the next round.
Sanchez asks whether DSNY provides supplemental cleaning to high-traffic or nightlife districts. Anderson confirms DSNY tailors service levels based on density, transit, and land use, noting existing nightlife resources on the Lower East Side and opportunities in growing outer-borough nightlife districts like Hunts Point and Bushwick.
Sanchez asks how commercial waste zones implementation has affected litter basket waste in high-foot-traffic areas. Anderson says there's no measurable impact on litter basket collections, as improper disposal is largely by residents rather than commercial establishments.
Sanchez asks how many parcels DOC has transferred for Rikers composting. Anderson says two large contiguous parcels have been transferred to DCAS plus decommissioned jail facilities, though buildings need demolition first. Sanchez asks about repurposing jail buildings; Anderson says composting requires large open spaces.
Sanchez asks for average daily collection of source-separated residential organics and landfill diversion estimates. Anderson reports 80,000 tons of organics collected year-to-date and promises to provide the daily average.
Sanchez asks about current capacity to process residential and commercial organic waste by anaerobic digestion and future improvements. Jennifer McDonald describes eight processing locations including two anaerobic digestion facilities—Newtown Creek in Brooklyn and one in New Jersey. Jane Gajwani reports Newtown Creek processes about 250 tons per day.
Sanchez asks how much renewable natural gas Newtown Creek produces annually and how it's used. Gajwani says it's enough to heat about 6,500 homes, with the gas distributed into National Grid's system as renewable natural gas, monetized through the federal renewable fuel standard.
Sanchez asks about DEP's 2023 RFEI soliciting customers for biodigester methane. Gajwani reports strong interest and identifies the key opportunity of new digesters at Hunts Point, where excess biogas could be converted to renewable natural gas replicating the Newtown Creek model.
Sanchez asks about anaerobic digester operating costs and the Newtown Creek co-digestion pilot cost breakdown. Gajwani says the pilot operates at no cost to the city, with costs borne by Waste Management, and that she doesn't have specific operating cost numbers.
Sanchez asks how co-digestion impacts operating costs and about cost-sharing arrangements. Gajwani explains biogas processing is at no cost to the city through agreements with Waste Management and National Grid, but there are costs for heating food waste, biosolids disposal, and nitrogen management, offset by Waste Management payments.
Sanchez asks about the status of Hunts Point wastewater facility upgrades and when digesters will be operational. Gajwani says construction should end this year, digesters operational by next calendar year, with follow-on contracts for energy efficiency and odor control.
Sanchez asks whether the 250 ton/day capacity includes biosolids and how much remains for curbside organics. Gajwani says Hunts Point could potentially handle up to 400 tons/day of food waste but nitrogen management studies are ongoing, so the final number will be lower.
Sanchez asks how organics will be transported to Hunts Point and about storage and odor impacts on nearby residents. Gajwani describes the pre-processing and enclosed vessel process, interest in partnering with the adjacent food market, and exploring waterway transport to minimize community impacts.
Sanchez asks about barge transport volumes, potential truck traffic, air pollution impacts, and mitigation for high asthma rates in his district. Gajwani estimates possibly 15 trucks/day at full capacity, discusses alternatives like electric or CNG trucks, and notes environmental assessments will be needed.
Sanchez asks whether Hunts Point will digest engineered bioslurry from Waste Management. Gajwani explains DEP is seeking an owner's advisor for contracting, the market has matured, and they want an integrated partner for both pre-processed food waste delivery and biogas cleanup.
Sanchez asks how much RNG will be produced daily at Hunts Point and what proportion used on-site. Gajwani estimates output similar to Newtown Creek (enough for 6,500 homes), with about 50-60% used on-site seasonally and the remainder distributed to the grid.
Sanchez asks about odor control solutions at Hunts Point and complaint handling. Gajwani describes enclosed digestion processes, odor control upgrades in follow-on contracts, and DEP's 311 response. Anderson adds that DEC regulates odors at transfer stations and DSNY conducts weekly inspections.
Sanchez thanks DSNY and DEP witnesses for their testimony, notes the importance of protecting the park near the Hunts Point facility, and announces a five-minute break before public testimony begins.
Sanchez welcomes attendees back, reads public testimony rules including no singing, two-minute time limits, no video recording from the witness table, and instructions for submitting written testimony within 72 hours.
Sanchez calls up the first panel of public witnesses: Eric Goldstein, Shravanti Kaneka, Claire Mifflin, and Hannah LaShawn, beginning the public testimony portion of the hearing.
Eric Goldstein of NRDC supports Intro 256 for textile recycling study, suggests analyzing non-DSNY collection options and tracking what happens to collected textiles, supports Intro 970 and both resolutions, and urges the Council to review and strengthen the draft Solid Waste Management Plan.
Bronx homeowner Hannah LaShawn describes problems with containerization including theft of trash cans leading to tickets, and inability to accommodate volume spikes. She requests a theft defense for violations and ability to book large-volume pickups in advance.
Claire Mifflin urges DSNY to pilot shared recycling and composting bins alongside trash for residents above storefronts, calls for integrating containerization into SWAMP diversion goals, advocates for community composting expansion, and proposes a district bulk set-out day for reuse.
Shravanti Kaneka of NYC EJA urges the city to deprioritize anaerobic co-digestion at wastewater facilities in favor of expanding community composting, citing unfair waste burdens on environmental justice communities and the benefits of local composting for green jobs.
Sanchez calls up the second panel: Petra Schelo, Cecilia Ellis, Josefa Marín, and Ryan Castalia, explaining that Spanish-language testimony will receive two minutes per speaker plus four minutes for translation.
Petra Schelo, a canner for two years, testifies in Spanish about doing this work out of economic necessity after losing her son, rising costs, and the need for a higher bottle deposit to help canners survive.
Josefa Marín, a canner for over 20 years and representative of the Alliance of Independent Recyclers, testifies in Spanish about the difficulty of the work, rising costs requiring double the collection effort, and asks the Council to push for a higher bottle deposit.
Ryan Castalia translates Petra's and Josefa's testimony into English, then testifies as Executive Director of Sure We Can, urging passage of Resolution 362 for bottle bill expansion. He notes canners earn about $5/hour, a 10-cent deposit would raise return rates to 90%, and the city could save $80 million annually.
Cecilia Ellis of NYPIRG testifies in support of Resolution 362, noting the bottle bill is the state's most successful recycling program, urging expansion of covered containers, and citing cost savings of $34.9-$80 million for NYC if the law is modernized. She calls for a dime deposit.
Sanchez confirms no more in-person testifiers and transitions to remote testimony via Zoom, instructing witnesses to wait for the Sergeant at Arms to announce they may begin.
Caitlin Vietoro of the NY League of Conservation Voters testifies in support of zero waste by 2030 goals, reducing single-use plastics, expanding composting infrastructure, supporting Intro 256 with a timeframe for mandated textile collection, and EPR programs for difficult-to-recycle materials.
Sharon Silberman, Manhattan SWAB Textile Waste Committee Chair and fashion industry veteran, testifies on Intro 256, noting 10,500 qualifying buildings lack bins, urging expansion of the Helpsy contract as a pilot, and arguing concerns about flooding the textile market are misguided since the alternative is burying and burning waste.
Sanchez confirms no further testifiers on Zoom, asks if anyone was missed, hears silence, thanks administration and public witnesses, and officially adjourns the hearing.