“Emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 84-87 times more potent than CO2 as a planet warmer, has actually increased. Methane now comprises 40 percent of New York’s total net greenhouse gases, up from 39 percent in 2019.”
“Sustainable food justice legislation must center food rescue efforts and make it a standard that all food-producing and handling businesses must meet.”
Recycling rates around longtime existing requirements—which ask residents to separate paper, plastics, metal and glass from the rest of their trash—have failed to improve over the last decade. Getting New Yorkers to comply with yet another set of rules could be an uphill battle, experts say.
“It’s not just enough to realize it is our hands that have created the ecological disaster our world faces, but it is also our responsibility to address it.”
The City Council on Thursday passed a “groundbreaking” legislative package that forces the city to divert food-based garbage away from landfills and reuse it instead for environmentally friendly purposes like composting and generating cleaner energy. But there’s much more to do for the city to reach its Zero Waste goals.
City Limits takes a multimedia look at how food waste is repurposed at the Department of Sanitation’s 33-acre composting facility in the Fresh Kills section of Staten Island. The site is part of New York City’s effort to operate “the nation’s largest composting program” and limit the climate impact of its waste sector, which accounts for 4 percent of citywide emissions.
“Addressing New York City’s organic waste output isn’t just about keeping our streets rodent free. It’s about communities across the country where our waste ends up in polluting incinerators and towering landfills, including the largest in the state: Seneca Meadows.”
Organic waste collection has become a growing priority as the city seeks to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, though its composting efforts have been rolled out in fits and starts over the last decade.
‘Mayor Adams has taken on the admirable challenge of promoting plant-based diets because of their health benefits to individuals. In many ways, composting and healthy eating go hand-in-hand, improving human health and the well-being of the environment around us. To be successful, both also require a shift in our thinking.’
Last week, the city started curbside pick-ups in additional districts in Manhattan, Brooklyn and one in The Bronx. The service, which was put on hold throughout the pandemic, resumed this fall based on areas that saw the most residents sign up for it.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
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Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
