The Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition released a report detailing how New York City produces more commercial waste, recycles less, and is more inefficient than previously believed. The report, Dirty, Wasteful and Unsustainable: The Case for Reforming New York City’s Commercial Waste System reveals hidden Bloomberg-era reports and new data from a community survey to uncover how NYC’s commercial waste system harms communities and the environment.

The city’s restaurants, stores and other businesses recycle far less than previously thought, according to a coalition of environmental groups and unions. According to a 2011 update to the environmental initiative PlaNYC, the city said that 40 percent of waste from commercial establishments is recycled.

A report released Monday found the city hauls more commercial waste than estimated. Transform Don't Trash NYC, a coalition of green nonprofits, looked at the number of waste haulers in some of the city's busiest business districts and found that they generated about 5.5 million tons of waste per year, 2 million more than predicted. At the same time, the groups found that commercial waste companies have a recycling rate of 25% compared to the 40% rate published in Mayor Bloomberg's 2011 PlaNYC update.

Here's a dirty little secret just in time for Earth Day — the city’s commercial recycling rate stinks. The amount of waste city businesses generate is nearly twice as high as previously reported — and it’s being recycled at a far lower rate, according to a study to be released Monday.

A coalition of environmental advocates and neighborhood groups want Mayor Bill de Blasio to rethink the city’s trash collection policies, arguing that only 40 percent of the garbage collected from private business is actually recycled or composted.

February 20, 2015: As the de Blasio administration strives to make greater social and economic equality its legacy, the neighborhoods that handle some of the city’s most toxic materials are demanding a different sort of equity.

October 13, 2013: A coalition of environmentalists and citizens rallied at City Hall on Oct. 2 to urge elected officials to rethink the city’s commercial trash policy. Coalition says Mott Haven takes too much of city’s commercial trash.

October 10, 2013: New York City's initiatives to improve residential recycling have made plenty of headlines of late, but a recent report is urging Big Apple leaders to focus more on the commercial sector.