NYC Business Groups Call for Public Hearings on Commercial Waste Changes

In response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s closed-door meetings regarding a proposal to shift to zoned commercial waste collection, six major business groups are calling on the New York City Council to hold public hearings on the issue.

The six groups—the Bodega Association of the United States, the National Supermarket Association, the New York State Restaurant Association, the New York City Hospitality Alliance, the Food Industry Association of New York and New Yorkers for Responsible Waste Management—have sent a joint letter to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

All groups are opposed to the zone-based proposal, citing the negative results that the city of Los Angeles has experienced with a similar system. In the letter, the groups explain that their concerns regarding the system have not been addressed and that the City of New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is using incomplete and inaccurate data in its consideration of the zone-based proposal.

The letter asks the City Council to convene public hearings on the proposal in order to provide oversight for the process, and it states that such hearings would, “continue the council’s legacy of leading on issues related to waste management and recycling.”