The nation's largest city is eliminating glass and plastics from its recycling program today in what recycling advocates say is the first significant rollback of such a program in the United States.
"No other big cities have taken a step back like this, and I'm not even familiar with any smaller cities taking out elements of their recycling programs," said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate for the New York Public Interest Research Group in an article by the Associated Press.. "It's unprecedented. People ... are looking very closely at this."
Starting July 1, sanitation workers will collect only paper and metal for recycling. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg says the change will save the deficit-troubled city $40 million in the coming fiscal year.
The decision to halt the collection of glass and plastics was made in a compromise with recyclers. The city cited the lack of markets for the two materials as a key reason for halting their collection.