Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 12, 1996

Release #509-96

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Jack Deacy (212 ) 788 2969


MAYOR GIULIANI ISSUES DIRECTIVE TO CITY AGENCIES:
CONSERVE SUPPLIES AND REDUCE CITY GOVERNMENT TRASH

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has issued a directive to all City agencies to conserve supplies and reduce the 321,000 pounds of solid waste generated annually by City government. Called the "Directive on Waste Prevention and Efficient Materials Management Policies," the directive is aimed at further reducing costs and increasing efficiency in all Mayoral agencies and agency departments. It requires Mayoral agencies to institute a variety of cost-saving, waste prevention practices and to report annually on their compliance through agency waste prevention coordinators.

"Waste prevention is an environmentally sound and cost effective approach for reducing the City's solid waste stream and the costs associated with waste management," Mayor Giuliani said. "Waste prevention, which is intended to reduce or eliminate the quantity of solid waste created, goes beyond recycling. It enables the City to conserve supplies and inventory, reduce packaging waste, and initiate programs to purchase longer lasting, more durable goods, and to reuse products to extend their useful life. I want acknowledge the valuable assistance and advice that we have received from Council Member Andrew Eristoff who worked closely with the Mayor's Office of Operations and the Department of Sanitation in drafting these important new policies."

"I applaud Mayor Giuliani for taking this very important step to reduce the City's generation of solid waste," said Council Member Eristoff, who declined to pursue proposed City Council legislation with a similar objective in favor of the Mayor's comprehensive initiative. "In view of the impending closure of Fresh Kills, the rising cost of exporting garbage and continuing opposition to incineration, New Yorkers have no choice but to embrace and practice waste prevention. Once again, the Mayor and his administration are taking the lead. The common sense requirements contained in this Mayoral D irective set an ambitious yet practical waste prevention standard for all of us, in and outside of government."

The Mayoral directive emphasizes practical measures to achieve measurable reductions in City agency waste. Requirements focus on office paper waste prevention and reuse; reducing waste from purchasing goods and supplies; reducing lawn and yard waste; and other measures. In addition, agencies are required to assign a waste prevention coordinator responsible for compliance with the directive, and must report on their compliance annually to the Mayor's Office of Operations. The coordinators will be part of a Inter Agency Task Force that will meet quarterly to review the implementation of directive.

A poster, produced by the Department of Sanitation, emphasizes the cost-savings of copying documents on both sides of the page, and provides tips to facilitate two-sided copying. The poster is intended for display over City agency photocopiers and office paper recycling bins.

Accompanying the directive is a companion piece, "Finding Dollars in City Trash: The Budget-Stretching Guide to Preventing Waste in NYC Government Agencies," intended to guide agency action. The guide includes examples of steps many Mayoral agencies have already undertaken to save money through waste prevention. The publication was produced for distribution to all Mayoral agency employees by the New York City Department of Sanitation, Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse, and Recycling.

The guide provides practical advice on how to streamline procurement to avoid wasteful purchasing through vendor surveys and revised bid specifications; how to reduce paper and postage in mailings by designing self-mailers and using two-way envelopes; how to create and support employee input and participation in a cost-savings waste prevention program; and other useful guidance.

An example of how the City already saves money through waste prevention is demonstrated by the Department of General Services' Division of Municipal Supplies Services surplus goods program. This program transfers surplus goods between agencies that might otherwise be disposed. In FY95, a record total of $3.5 million (appraised value) in surplus materials was transferred inter-agency. City agencies are being urged to maximize their participation in this highly worthwhile, cost-saving waste prevention program.

For information on the waste prevention directive, contact the Mayor's Office of Operations at 788-1400. For more information on the Department of Sanitation's waste prevention guide, and other Department of Sanitation services, call the Sanitation Action Center at 212-219-8090.


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