By Alexander Dworkowitz
As part of the city budget agreement, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council came to terms last week on the future of the city’s recycling program in Queens and the other boroughs.
Officials approved a plan to continue recycling paper and metal, but to discontinue the separation of glass and plastic as of July 1.
The plan calls for the recycling of plastic to be automatically reinstated in one year and the recycling of glass in two years, although such provisions could be changed in next year’s budget discussions.
As part of the deal, the city will study possible ways to improve the program.
Queens residents intent on putting out more trash can still recycle their returnable glass and plastic. Run by the state, 5-cent bottle-deposit machines are still in operation.
Bloomberg had pushed for the elimination of the recycling of metal as well, contending his proposal would save the city $50 million a year in a time of fiscal crisis.
Since many members of the Council objected to any reduction in the program, the deal to eventually reinstate full recycling was a compromise. Bloomberg said the current accord will save the city $40 million.
Unlike glass, metal or plastic, the recycling of paper turns a profit for the city and was never threatened with elimination during the budget negotiations.
Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), the chairman of the Council’s environmental committee, had pushed for the complete restoration of recycling.
“I’m certainly not happy about the temporary suspension of certain components of the recycling program,” he said. “But I’m confident that the City Council will use this opportunity to create a more cost-effective program.”
The city has a contract with one plant to handle recycled paper, Gennaro said. But in the case of glass, plastic and metal, the city gives the used products to middlemen, who then send them to particular recycling plants. If the city were to get rid of the middlemen, the recycling of glass, plastic and metal could become cheaper and possibly even profitable, Gennaro said.
“Recycling is not just about picking the stuff up,” he said. “It’s about marketing it.”
Susan Craine, a consumer advocate for the non-profit New York Public Interest Research Group, attacked the city’s plan.
“We think it’s a really bad compromise,” she said. “We are wondering how much money it’s really going to save.”
Craine questioned the logistics of the program, wondering if residents who accidentally recycled plastic or glass with metal would be fined.
Craine also worried that the homeless would be forced to be more brazen in order to find recyclables.
“You are going to have people going through the trash,” she said.
Jordan Barowitz, a spokesman for Bloomberg, explained that the city is working on a re-education program to inform the public on the changes in recycling.
“It’s a good compromise,” he said. “Our challenge now is to make recycling work.”
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
