A People’s SWMP: 30 Recommendations For a Solid Waste System That is Healthy and Safe for All New Yorkers
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As we publish this report, the escalating climate crisis continues to impact communities across New York state while the federal administration has launched an unprecedented assault on renewable energy, environmental protections, and environmental justice communities. In the face of these attacks, it is imperative that state and local governments remain steadfast in achieving climate and environmental justice goals. One way to do this is through the reform of New York City’s solid waste management system, which remain firmly within the regulatory control of municipal and state governments. New York City’s (NYC) current Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is a twenty-year plan that was adopted in 2006, pursuant to state law. The City is expected to develop a new 10-year plan and receive state approval to enact the new plan in 2026.
The Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition (TDT) developed this People’s SWMP to comprehensively assess the progress our City has made toward key equity, sustainability, and public health goals over the course of the current, twenty-year SWMP. This report identifies 30 concrete recommendations for inclusion in the 2026 SWMP based on input gathered from impacted community members collected through a borough wide survey, solid waste experts, and from the experience of other municipalities across the United States. Respondents to our survey consistently identified concerns around: organic waste collection and separation; difficulty in accessing recycling and composting programs and facilities; limited public education efforts by the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) on composting and recycling initiatives; implementation of containerization requirements for trash collection; problems associated with anaerobic codigestion at city sewage treatment plants; and insufficient focus on waste prevention, equity and on achieving the New York City Council’s zero waste goals.
The next Mayor and City Council have a unique opportunity to transform our solid waste system with a new plan that achieves the unfulfilled equity promises of the 2006 SWMP, centers community input and local solutions, and rapidly decarbonizes the solid waste sector as required by New York’s landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).