Sanchez questions Anderson on Intro 256 and curbside textile collection challenges
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.
I want to talk about Intro 256.
This is Councilmember Hudson's bill in relation to requiring the commissioner to study the feasibility and potential environmental effects of recycling mandate for household textiles.
So in prior testimony, the department highlighted that wet textiles are unrecyclable.
Can the agency provide additional information on why that is the case for textiles, but not other waste streams like paper?
And with the requirement of citywide containerization, is this still a concern?
I don't know that we've testified that they're unrecyclable.
I think the department's position in the past has been that curbside collection of textiles presents some really unique challenges that may be difficult to overcome.
And we have actually in two different occasions piloted curbside collection of textiles and sort of proven out what these challenges look like.
The first was a pilot that we did maybe a decade ago in parts of Brooklyn where we did a curbside collection.
We actually sent these pink bags out to residents and said, you know, put all your textiles in these pink bags.
We're coming on this day and we'll pick them up.
We found a couple things there.
One, if it rains, it really destroys the quality of the textiles and the ability to reuse those textiles.
So then you're automatically downcycling them into lesser products.
Number two, just the sort of...
Operational barriers to operating a program like that, I think would make it very expensive to scale.
We also had an appointment-based program in, I think, around 2022, 23, where we, this was on Staten Island, where Staten Islanders could make appointments for the collection of textiles.
We saw really, really low demand for that program.
So I think, you know, both of those sort of indicate that curbside collection may not be the way to go.
But we are, you know, open to exploring other collection models.
And, you know, I think if this bill were to pass, I think the appropriate sort of space to do that would be as part of our next waste characterization study, which is due in January of 28.