Requires that a city with a population of one million or more shall provide at least one curbside composting collection site for every five thousand people with bi-weekly collection days.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2158
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general city law, in relation to requiring that a
city with a population of one million or more shall provide curbside
composting collection sites
PURPOSE:
This bill would require cities with a population of one million or more
to provide curbside composting collection sites.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the general city law by adding a new section 20-h.
Section two establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York City produces 12,000 tons of garbage per day, the majority of
which ends up in landfills. Food scraps, food-soiled paper and yard
waste make up a third of the City's trash which generates one million
tons of greenhouse gases every year and impacts nearby residents' health
and quality of life. Landfills are often located in or near low-income
neighborhoods outside of New York.
Composting, or separating organic waste to be processed separately and
diverted from landfills is not only proven to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, but it also reduces the presence of rodents and other vermin
and creates usable fertilizer that can help enrich soil. This nutrient-
rich soil, helps conserve water, promote healthy plant growth and even
assists in stormwater management through its erosion reduction and water
control properties.
USPIRG cities accessibility as a barrier that prevents individuals from
participating in composting programs. By requiring at least one curbside
collection site per 5,000 residents in cities of one million or more,
such as New York City, this legislation will ensure all New Yorkers can
participate in and reap the benefits of our existing composting program
for individual households and the City and our environment as a whole.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A.9624 - Referred to Cities
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall be effective immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2158
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the general city law, in relation to requiring that a
city with a population of one million or more shall provide curbside
composting collection sites
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general city law is amended by adding a new section
2 20-h to read as follows:
3 § 20-h. Curbside composting collection. 1. For the purpose of this
4 section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Compostable waste" and "organic waste" shall mean materials,
6 including but not limited to food scraps, plant trimmings, food-soiled
7 paper and certified compostable products, that will:
8 (i) undergo degradation by biological processes during composting to
9 yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate
10 consistent with other known compostable materials; and
11 (ii) leave no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue, including no
12 adverse impact on the ability of composts to support plant growth once
13 the finished compost is placed in soil.
14 (b) "Organics recycler" means a facility, permitted by the department,
15 that recycles organic waste through use as animal feed or a feed ingre-
16 dient, rendering, land application, composting, aerobic digestion, anae-
17 robic digestion, fermentation, or ethanol production. Animal scraps,
18 food soiled paper, and post-consumer food scraps are prohibited for use
19 as animal feed or as a feed ingredient. The proportion of the product
20 created from organic waste by a composting or digestion facility,
21 including a wastewater treatment plant that operates a digestion facili-
22 ty, or other treatment system, must be used in a beneficial manner as a
23 soil amendment and shall not be disposed of or incinerated.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05800-01-3
A. 2158 2
1 (c) "Incinerator" shall have the same meaning as provided in section
2 72-0401 of the environmental conservation law.
3 (d) "Landfill" shall have the same meaning as provided in section
4 72-0401 of the environmental conservation law.
5 (e) "Transfer facility" means a solid waste management facility,
6 whether owned or operated by a private or public entity, other than a
7 recyclables handling and recovery facility, used oil facility, or a
8 construction and demolition debris processing facility, where solid
9 waste is received for the purpose of subsequent transfer to another
10 solid waste management facility for processing, treating, disposal,
11 recovery, or further transfer.
12 2. Within one year after the effective date of this section, any city
13 with a population of one million or more shall establish curbside
14 composting collection sites in the city. For every five thousand people,
15 there shall be at least one curbside composting collection site. Such
16 curbside composting collection sites shall:
17 (a) encourage residents to separate compostable waste from garbage and
18 other recyclables and place the compostable waste in labeled containers;
19 (b) consistent with the best waste collection practices to avoid odor
20 and vermin, establish requirements for composting containers, labels and
21 liner bags; and
22 (c) provide collection and education resources for the public, includ-
23 ing regular periodical guidance, training, updates, signage and flyers
24 for the purposes of teaching and retaining effective procedures for
25 sorting materials for organics and other recycling.
26 3. Each city subject to the provisions of this section shall:
27 (a) arrange for bi-weekly collection days for such curbside composting
28 collection sites;
29 (b) arrange for compostable waste to be transported and/or processed
30 separately from garbage and recycling; and
31 (c) regulate organics recyclers to ensure that their activities do not
32 impair water quality or otherwise harm human health and the environment.
33 4. (a) Any waste transporter that collects organic waste from such
34 curbside composting collection sites shall:
35 (i) deliver organic waste to a transfer facility that will deliver
36 such organic waste to an organics recycler; or
37 (ii) deliver such organic waste directly to an organics recycler.
38 (b) Any waste transporter that transports organic waste from a resi-
39 dential facility shall take all reasonable precautions to not deliver
40 the organic waste to an incinerator or a landfill nor commingle the
41 material with any other solid waste unless such commingled waste can be
42 processed by an organics recycler.
43 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
