NYC Sanitation Department Announces Successful Start to Pilot Organics Collection Program in Staten Island Neighborhood 

One month after the Department of Sanitation initiated a pilot “organics” collection program in the Westerleigh neighborhood in Staten Island, the department is proud to report many residents are taking part in the program and tons of recyclable materials have been kept out of landfills.

The program takes organic material such as food scraps, soiled paper, leaf and yard waste out of the trash bin and recycles them, helping the City reduce trash disposal costs, create a valuable product, limit greenhouse gas emissions, and achieve its recycling goals.

New Reduced Parking Restrictions to Begin in Sections of Inwood, Washington Heights 

New Street Cleaning/Alternate Side Parking (ASP) regulations in parts of the Inwood and Washington Heights neighborhoods of Manhattan Community District 12 take effect Monday, June  24, now that the Department of Transportation (DOT) has completed the second of two phases to install new, reduced parking regulations. Approximately 1,700 signs in the area were installed during this phase, reducing residential street cleaning parking restrictions from twice a week to just once a week to ease parking for local residents.

Mayor Bloomberg Announces Start Of Expanded Recycling Program To Include All Rigid Plastics For The First Time

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Operations Cas Holloway and Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty today announced the expansion of the City’s recycling program to include for the first time the recycling of all rigid plastics, including toys, hangers, shampoo bottles, coffee cups and food containers.

The expansion of plastics recycling – which begins today – is part of the City’s Solid Waste Management Plan and is made possible, in part, through a partnership with SIMS Municipal Recycling whose recycling facilities are equipped to handle the broad range of plastic recycling. The recycling expansion will result in more than 50,000 additional tons of waste a year no longer ending up in landfills at a savings to City taxpayers of almost $600,000 each year in export costs, and for rigid plastics, it is recommended that New Yorkers should rinse and recycle it.