Shravanti Kankanala of NYC-EJA outlines waste equity recommendations
Shravanti Kankanala, senior resiliency planner at the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, says 75% of privately managed waste is trucked through five community districts. She recommends fully implementing commercial waste zones, using marine transfer stations for commercial waste, passing Intro 367, and expanding composting over anaerobic co-digestion.
Good afternoon, Chair Sanchez and members of the Council.
My name is Shravanti Kaneka, the Senior Resiliency Planner at the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance.
New York City's current solid waste system is an ongoing environmental injustice where 75% of the city's privately managed waste is still trucked through five community districts, which represent low-income communities and communities of color.
Despite laws intending to change this, for years these communities of color have had to deal with far more than their fair share of heavy truck traffic, safety hazards, pollutions, noise, and a lot more.
Nija recommends the following EJ Center recommendations to ensure that New York City truly makes progress on waste equity.
One, we strongly urge the DSNY to implement the remaining zones of Local Law 199 of 2019, the Commercial Waste Zones Law.
The continued delay in rollout of this program continues to disproportionately impact low-income communities of color by the private waste industry while jeopardizing the health and safety of sanitation workers as well.
Number two, the upcoming 2026 solid waste management plan should fulfill the 2006 solid waste management plan waste equity.
strategy of using municipal marine transfer stations to accept commercial waste.
This has been a long-standing priority for environmental justice communities.
Number three, we are set the council pass intro 367, co-sponsored by council member nurse.
Number four,
The city should not be expanding anaerobic co-digestion systems at city wastewater resource recovery facilities.
Doing this at the cost of expanding municipal composting facilities is something that we don't recommend.
Community advocates from neighborhoods around the Newtown Creek wastewater facility have repeatedly raised concerns over the years over excessive flaring of methane.
And lastly, we urge the council to look at a people's swamp and all of the recommendations that we've outlined, especially in thinking about the upcoming 2026 solid waste management plan.