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NEW YORK, N.Y.; August 15, 1993 -
New York City businesses will face a new set of
commercial recycling regulations effective September
30, and must be prepared to institute aggressive
programs to comply with the new law, urges The Green
Way, Inc., a leading recycling consultant based in
New York City.
However, companies that put in place full recycling
programs can actually reduce their waste removal
costs because of the resultant drop in trash volume,
according to The Green Way.
Under Local Law 87, effective September 30,
commercial properties in New York City will have to
separate out certain items from their garbage for
recycling. The law affects all properties that use
private carters, including food and beverage outlets
(delicatessens, restaurants, bars, cafeterias, etc.)
and all other businesses, as well as some residential
premises.
Food and beverage establishments will have to sort
glass and metal containers; plastic bottles and jugs;
foil products; and corrugated cardboard. Other
businesses will be required to separate high-grade
office paper, newspapers, magazines, catalogs,
telephone books, corrugated cardboard, and, in some
cases, textiles.
"Trash separation and recycling need not be
painful tasks for businesses," noted Harris
Brockley, President of The Green Way. "In fact,
we urge companies to go even further and institute
full recycling programs. Properties that have already
done so not only comply with the new law, but are
able to improve their bottom line costs through lower
carting fees."
The Green Way recently published a white paper
detailing both the new regulations, and its
implications for different businesses, including
office buildings, hotels, and department
stores.
Office buildings have a range of options available.
Once glass, metal and plastics are separated, there
are several alternatives for dry paper waste, the
Green Way white paper states.
A full recycling program would require a building to
separate out each designated item from the waste
stream. Typically, this involves placing bins
throughout tenant floors to collect office paper,
placing different bins for newspapers, magazines,
catalogs, and phone books; and implementing systems
to ensure that cardboard is kept separate from the
trash. These items are then stored separately from
each other and the regular trash, and are then sold
to a recycling company. Tenants and building staff
will need to be fully trained and monitored.
A full recycling program is the most effective and
cost efficient, particularly for large buildings.
Many Green Way clients that have implemented these
separation systems have been able to reduce their
waste removal charges because of the drop in regular
trash volume. For example, The Figgis Co., one of New
York City's largest real estate companies, has
been able to reduce its haulage charges by over 30%,
according to The Green Way.
A building can implement a mixed recycling program (a
lesser version of a full program) and still comply
with the new regulations. This would entail placing
bins in all tenant spaces to collect all specified
paper grades mixed together. These items would than
be bagged separate from the rest of the trash and
from wet waste and be picked up by the waste hauler
separately. But because commingled recyclables are
not very valuable, this option often does not impact
carting costs, The Green Way notes.
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