Food waste wasters squander city savings
Report says proper disposal of food waste could save city millions
New York City could recoup $22.5 million annually for its money-losing organic waste collection program – but substantially more New Yorkers must get on board, according to a new report from the New York City Independent Budget Office.
The nonpartisan budget analysts found that just 1.7 percent of the city’s 1 million tons of organic waste was recycled in fiscal year 2017. After processing, the resulting compost is either given away or sold — and this year it’s slated to recoup just $50,000. That’s less than 17 percent of the $30 million allocated for the program this year.
If New York City was able to turn all of its 1 million tons of food scraps and pizza boxes into biogas, a renewable energy source used for electricity and heating, it could earn $22.5 million. While that’s still short of the program’s price tag, it recoups funds spent on trucking around waste, whether it’s sorted out or not.