Anderson testifies on Intro 30 city-owned building containerization
Anderson says DSNY agrees with moving aggressively on containerization but opposes Intro 30's requirement that all city agency facilities use Empire bins. He says city buildings already containerize waste and that adding Empire bins everywhere would divert resources from residential rollout.
Turning now to the legislation on today's agenda, Intro 30, sponsored by Councilmember Breu, would require sanitation in consultation with DCAS and DOE to create a program requiring city-owned buildings to dispose of waste in stationary on-street containers.
DSNY agrees that we should move aggressively to containerize the city's trash.
And in fact, trash containerization has been required for all city agencies for nearly two years.
Trash containerization is imperative for New York City, but we must take a thoughtful and strategic approach that accounts for density and efficiency.
This bill would require all city agency facilities, including small schools and offices, to use Empire bins, which may not be appropriate in all cases.
Moreover, all city buildings, as I said before, are already required to use some form of trash containerization, whether through tilt trucks, NYC bins, or off-street containerized collection.
In developing the plan for the citywide rollout of Empire bins, we have focused on residential properties with 10 or more units not currently covered by our containerization requirements
to maximize the impact of our investments in getting trash bags off the sidewalk.
Empire bins now serve large residential buildings in West Harlem and are rolling out this fall in Brooklyn.
Community District 2, including downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene.
And as the mayor announced this spring, we are on an aggressive timeline to achieve full trash containerization by 2031, faster than ever previously envisioned.
Adding Empire bins at every city facility as we roll out that program will divert resources from that important focus on residential trash and delay the full rollout.
There are certainly some municipal buildings for which Empire bin service is appropriate, and we will pursue installation at the appropriate time.
We would be happy to continue conversations with the council as we expand our revolutionary trash containerization programs.