NYC to Expand Municipal Recycling Program

New York City Michael Bloomberg, along with Deputy Mayor for Operations Cas Holloway and Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty have jointly announced the expansion of New York City’s recycling program to include, for the first time, all types of rigid plastics. Materials falling under the expansion program include shampoo bottles, coffee cups, hangars and food containers. The city estimates that the expansion of its recycling program will add another 50,000 tons of material a year to its collection program.

The city says that the expansion of plastics recycling is part of its Solid Waste Management Plan and is made possible, in part, through a partnership with SIMS Municipal Recycling, whose recycling facilities are equipped to handle the broad range of plastic recycling.

“Starting today, if it’s a rigid plastic – any rigid plastic – recycle it,” said Mayor Bloomberg in a statement. “There is no more worrying about confusing numbers on the bottom of the container. This means that 50,000 tons of plastics that we were sending to landfills every year will now be recycled and it will save taxpayers almost $600,000 in export costs each year.”

“Today’s announcement represents the largest expansion of our city’s recycling efforts in 25 years,” says Deputy Mayor Holloway. “We were able to take this step because of the major commitment we made to recycling as part of the city’s Solid Waste Management Plan in 2006 – and this commitment continues today and will result in cost savings and 50,000 tons of plastics that we were sending to landfills every year now being recycled.”

“With the expansion of plastics recycling we are making the New York City curbside program as inclusive as any in the nation,” says Robert Kelman, president of SIMS North America Metals. “This is exactly the type of advance that was envisioned when we entered into this long-term collaboration with the city, and we remain hopeful that increasing the types of plastics recycled will lead to higher recycling rates for metal, paper and other recyclables. Sims Municipal Recycling is proud to be a part of this historic day and of our team for doing our part in helping to make this expansion possible.”

Under the expansion program SIMS will transfer plastics to facilities that can handle the plastics.

Later this year, SIMS is expected to open its long-awaited MRF in Brooklyn. SIMS says that when the plant is fully operational it will be the largest household recycling plant in North America.