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|  What's in New York City's Waste?
The NYC Department of Sanitation, along with its research consultants, designed the NYC Waste Characterization Study (WCS) to be as flexible and inclusive as possible because there are countless ways to identify, classify, and sort materials found in the waste stream. Both the trash (refuse) and recycling portions of the waste stream were studied, at equivalent levels of detail, over four seasons between 2004 and 2005. By understanding what is in the trash, we can plan for new and better recycling programs. Studying what NYC residents put in their recycling containers helps us to assess how well residents are complying with recycling regulations, and where they need more education. Our first step was to conduct a Preliminary Waste Characterization Study (PWCS) in the Spring of 2004 to test our sampling methodology and refine sample management and sorting techniques. In the Fall of 2004, we started the four-season Residential and Street Basket Waste Characterization Study in order to accurately determine the contents of New York City's waste. This effort concluded in September 2005, with the Summer season. Since then, we have been calculating and finalizing Annualized Results, which reflect data averaged over four seasons. The Final Report posted here covers the PWCS, all four seasons of the WCS, and the Annualized WCS Results. The Results Highlights, written by DSNY, is an overview of major findings of the study, including a guide to using the voluminous pages of data presented Final Report. Explanation of Waste Categories In each season, professional sorters separated 850 representative samples of NYC trash and recycling into material categories. The sample size and number of samples used in the study met rigorous requirements to achieve statistical significance. The WCS sorted residential waste into 91 different categories, which were grouped according to the following nine, more general categories:
Explanation of Different Waste Streams The results of the WCS have been organized into the following five residential waste-streams that the Department of Sanitation is responsible for collecting:
In New York City, residential waste comprises refuse and recycling that New York residents generate at home and set out for DSNY collection. The WCS covers dwellings of all sizes and types, as long as they are residential, including the smallest houses to the largest high-rises. The WCS studied residential waste, as well as street-basket waste. It also included a supplementary look at apartment building waste at the building level. What Was Not Covered The WCS did not study wastes arising from commercial or nonprofit enterprises of any kind – including retail outlets, restaurants, offices, hospitals, schools, factories, commercial construction and demolition outfits, or other work-related sources. Some older data on the composition of NYC commercial and institutional wastes, from DSNY’s 1989/90 Study, is available upon request. A more recent Commercial Waste Management Study by the Department, dated 2004, is posted on the Sanitation website. 2004-05 NYC WCS Results NOTE: The files below are PDF (Portable Document Format) documents; you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to display and print them. Pie Charts Summarizing NYC's Waste Streams
back to WCS results selections | back to top Results Highlights: DSNY wrote this overview of major highlights of the study, plus a guide to using the voluminous pages of data presented in the Final 2004-05 NYC Residential and Street Basket Waste Characterization Study Report. 2004-05 NYC WCS Results Highlights Focus Issues Final Report: A four volume report issued by RW Beck detailing the seasonal and annualized WCS Study Results, as follows: VOLUME 1: Preliminary Residential Waste Characterization Study and Residential and Street Basket Waste Characterization Study Results VOLUME 2: Methodology VOLUME 3: Multi-Unit Apartment Study VOLUME 4: Appendices back to top of WCS final report | back to WCS results selections | back to top |  | ||||
The New York City 2004-05 Residential and Street Basket Waste Characterization Study is a comprehensive look at the composition and generation rates of New York City residential and street basket waste.
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