Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Jack Deacy (212)-788-2969
By End of 1997, Use Of Fresh Kills Landfill Could Be Reduced By 20 Percent
The joint Task Force appointed last Spring by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Governor George E. Pataki to develop a blueprint to insure the closure of the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island by December 31, 2001, today issued The Fresh Kills Task Force Report.
The 125-page report outlines a comprehensive waste management plan for New York City which combines waste reduction, expanded recycling and disposal initiatives to replace the City's current reliance on Fresh Kills, the world's largest landfill that handles 13,000 tons of garbage every day and approximately 7 billion tons a year.
The report recommends that beginning on July 1, 1997, the City will begin exporting approximately 1,700 to 1,800 tons of waste generated every day in the Bronx to a willing community outside the City that will be selected after a Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued. In addition, the expanded waste reduction and recycling effort should further reduce the amount of waste deposited at Fresh Kills by an additional 400 to 800 tons per day by the end of next year. As a result, the City anticipates that the amount of waste going to Fresh Kills will fall below 11,000 tons per day by the end of 1997 and could result in as much as a 20 percent reduction overall. In addition, the report establishes a timetable to reduce the amount of waste going to Fresh Kills each year until its closure.
"With the release of today's Fresh Kills Task Force Report, both Governor Pataki and I again underline the commitment we made on May 29th that the Fresh Kills Landfill will close by December 31, 200l," Mayor Giuliani said. "Now we have a blueprint to begin charting the road to closure.
"Our partner on this road has been Borough President Guy Molinari. His forceful leadership, and first-hand knowledge of the Fresh Kills issue and his insights into it, have been invaluable to the Task Force," the Mayor added.
"I also want to thank the members of the Task Force for the excellent job they have completed in just five months. As the plan goes forward, we will also be consulting with Borough Presidents on particular planning for waste management in their boroughs. I want to express my thanks to Governor Pataki and his staff for their support and hard work on this issue and on this report. And I want to remind New Yorkers of the Governor's leadership on the passage of the recent Environmental Bond Issue which will provide $100 million toward to the Fresh Kills closure and related recycling initiatives," the Mayor concluded.
Governor Pataki said, "By increasing recycling and reducing its waste stream, New York City can take an important first step toward closing Fresh Kills on time: December 31, 2001. With funds from the Environmental Bond Act, the State will play an active role in helping the City meet its goals.
"Mayor Giuliani has further demonstrated his commitment to closing Fresh Kills on time by pledging to work with communities where disposal facilities are located," the Governor said. "By extending the hand of cooperation, the Mayor has laid the groundwork for a successful relationship with these communities. We will continue to work with the people of Staten Island to ensure that we implement a sensible, responsible and timely plan to close Fresh Kills and manage the City's waste stream.
"We would not have reached this point today without the unfailing efforts of Borough President Guy Molinari, who not only pushed hard to close Fresh Kills, but backed it up by hiring his own experts to develop a series of recommendations that we have been able to incorporate into our report," the Governor added.
Borough President Molinari said, "I wish to extend my appreciation to the Mayor and his staff, especially Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who played a key roll in the final negotiations that produced this report. This document provides Staten Islanders with a reasonable assurance that Fresh Kills will be closed in accordance with the expressed timeline. This was a difficult task, and I would also like to thank the Governor's Office for their cooperation in this venture. I am pleased with the good faith shown by all sides."
Congresswoman Susan Molinari said, "This report demonstrates Mayor Giuliani's and Governor Pataki's commitment to Staten Island and their willingness to work with Staten Islanders in fulfilling our community's number one dream -- closing Fresh Kills. Included in this report is a timeline, which provides a schedule of garbage reduction for the next five years. This schedule guarantees that Fresh Kills will not receive any more that 4,000 tons per day by the beginning of 2001 -- a reduction of 70% from the current level -- and that one year later, Fresh Kills will be closed for good. I applaud the Mayor's hard work in overseeing this task force and I look forward to it continuing its efforts in maintaining the closure plan."
Task Force member Barbara Warren, Chairperson of the Staten Island Solid Waste Advisory Board and member of the Staten Island Citizens for Clean Air said, "Staten Island now has more than a promise -- it has a concrete plan for reduced reliance on Fresh Kills. The Fresh Kills crisis signaled the need for a new solid waste management plan and now we can look forward to a revitalized City that will not just practice disposal. We can look forward to a City that will creatively mine materials in our trash, produce new products and create jobs in the process."
James Tripp, General Counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund, and Task Force member, said, "The Environmental Defense Fund fully supports the Task Force plan that is being release today. It marks the beginning of reassessing the City's solid waste future and sets in motion a large number of pilot projects recommended in the report. Plans for the expansion of mixed paper and bulk metal recycling programs, resurrection of several waste prevention initiatives and an increased role for the Economic Development Corporation in attracting recycling industries to New York demonstrates that the City is committed to improving and expanding its recycling programs."
In addition to Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari and Congresswoman Susan Molinari, the New York City members of the Fresh Kills Task Force include Marilyn Haggerty-Blohm, Deputy Director of the Mayor's Office of Operations and coordinator of the City's delegation; Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty; Elizabeth St. Claire, Chief of Environmental Law in the City's Department of Law; Department of Environmental Protection Assistant Commissioner Addy Nagel; Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Len Zinnanti; City Planning Commission Chairman Joseph Rose; Department of Health Deputy Commissioner Enid Carruth; Barbara Warren, Chairperson of the Staten Island Solid Waste Advisory Board; and James Tripp, General Counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund.
The New York State members of the Task Force include Michael Finnegan, Counsel to the Governor and the coordinator of the State delegation; State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Michael Zagata; State Health Commissioner Barbara A. DeBuono; and Secretary of State Alexander F. Treadwell. A representative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also took part in Task Force planning discussions.