The NYC Sanitation Department's budget has tripled over the past 17 years, despite Mayor Bloomberg's waste management reforms. With recycling rates dismally low and a long-range management plan stalled, Bill de Blasio will have to clean up the mess.
To stabilize the rising costs of New York City's waste management, Mayor Michael Bloomberg undertook two key reforms. First, he suspended plastic and glass recycling when he entered office. "The recycling rate — meaning, the percentage of material kept out of landfills — was 20 percent before the cuts," reports Amy Eddings. "In 2005, a year after they were restored, it was 16.8, according to the Mayor's Management Report for Fiscal Year 2005. It's never been higher than that. If you add the collection of old electronics, motor oil and yard waste, New York City's overall recycling rate is about 27 percent. By comparison, San Francisco's recycling rate is around 77 percent, Los Angeles, about 62 percent, and Seattle about 51 percent."
In 2006, the Mayor pushed through the second key reform - a controversial Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP). But, as Eddings explains, "The SWMP has become a swamp, mired in litigation and politics. Just one of the seven facilities the city was supposed to build is operating."
With recycling rates dismally low and implementation of the SWMP stalled, "Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leaving the incoming administration of Bill de Blasio with a pile of unfinished business."
FULL STORY: Bloomberg and Garbage: A Pile of Unfinished Business
New York City Polystyrene Ban Took Effect New Year's Day
Thanks to two recent New York State court rulings, disposable food and beverage containers will no longer be made from polystyrene in the nation's largest city. The ban was originally proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in February 2013.
New York City’s Trash Problem
The city had ambitious goals to reduce waste, but millions of tons of garbage are still sent to communities around the country each year.
Waste Management Best Practices (And Their Impact on Urban Planning)
Urban planners can play a role in ensuring the best possible waste management practices are implemented whenever possible.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
