By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
Glass recycling and weekly collections of recyclables will resume April 1, the city Department of Sanitation announced Friday.
The city’s fiscal crisis halted glass and plastic recycling in July 2002, but plastic recycling resumed one year later with collections going from weekly to biweekly.
“We made the difficult decision to suspend a portion of our recycling program because costs were skyrocketing, and materials that should have been recycled ended up in landfills,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news release.
He said the city was “bringing back glass recycling and weekly collections April 1 because we’ve found a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to recycle.”
City vendors that had been paid $100 per ton to take the city’s recyclables are now being paid $51, the Sanitation Department said, because the suspension “allowed some vendors to reconfigure their operations, increase efficiency and offer the city a considerably better deal.”
Metal and paper recycling were not suspended. The city is conducting an information campaign with newspaper advertisements, posters and mailings to residents.
Glass, metal and plastic should be recycled in clear bags or blue-labeled containers. Acceptable objects are cans, bottles, jars, jugs, beverage cartons and drink boxes, aluminum foil and trays, wire hangers, pots and pans.
Furniture that is 100 percent metal, such as cabinets, also can be recycled.
Plastic toys, electronic equipment or plastic cups and plates cannot be recycled, nor can deli or yogurt containers, Styrofoam or plastic furniture. Recyclables should not be placed in blue plastic bags.
For more information, call 311.
