CAN WE HAVE OUR CAKE and COMPOST IT TOO? an Analysis of Organic Waste Diversion in New York City
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CAN WE HAVE OUR CAKE AND COMPOST IT TOO? An Analysis of Organic Waste Diversion in New York City February 2016 FOREWORD Founded in 1932, the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic organization devoted to influencing constructive change in the finances and services of New York State and New York City governments. A major activity of the Commission is conducting research on the financial and management practices of the State and the City. All research is overseen by a committee of its trustees. This report was completed under the auspices of the Solid Waste Management Committee. We serve as co-chairs of that Committee. The other members of the Committee are Eric Altman, Samara Barend, Ronald Bergamini, Lawrence Buttenwieser, Eileen Cifone, Edward Cox, Kenneth Gibbs, David Greenbaum, Walter Harris, H. Dale Hemmerdinger, Robert Hoglund, Brian Horey, Peter Joseph, Tracey Keays, Calvin A. Mitchell III, James Normile, Timothy Plunkett, Steven Polan, Brian Sanvidge, Martha Wooding, and Edward Skyler, ex-officio. This report is the fifth in a recent series on municipal solid waste management in New York City. Previous CBC reports recommended greater use of waste-to-energy conversion technologies, addressing high collection costs at the Department of Sanitation, implementing a franchise system for commercial waste, and instituting a residential volume-based trash fee. It is the intention of CBC to help reduce the great fiscal and environmental costs of solid waste management through its recommendations. A draft of this report was sent to New York City officials and other interested parties. We are grateful for their comments and suggestions. This report was prepared by Tammy P. Gamerman, Senior Research Associate, under the guidance of Michael Dardia, Co-Director of Research. Michael Dardia and Maria Doulis, Vice-President, provided editorial guidance. The report was edited by Laura Cyriax and formatted for publication by Kevin Medina. Carol Rosenthal, Co-Chair Michael Ryan, Co-Chair February 2, 2016 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 2 OVERVIEW OF ORGANIC WASTE IN NEW YORK CITY NYC’s trash system Residential organic waste Commercial organic waste 5 HOW MUCH CAPACITY IS NEEDED TO EXPAND ORGANIC WASTE DIVERSION? Composting Anaerobic digestion Wastewater treatment plant co-digestion Total city and regional capacity 8 HOW MUCH WOULD RESIDENTIAL CURBSIDE ORGANIC WASTE DIVERSION COST? Costs of residential curbside collection In-sink food waste disposers 16 OPTIONS FOR COST-EFFECTIVE ORGANICS DIVERSION 18 CONCLUSION 19 APPENDIX A: COST MODEL ASSUMPTIONS 29 APPENDIX B: REGIONAL ORGANIC WASTE PROCESSING CAPACITY 31 ENDNOTES 38 SOURCES OF DATA FOR APPENDICES 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In recent years New York City has focused interest in expanding municipal composting on diverting food scraps and other organic and co-digestion at wastewater treatment material from landfills as part of the City’s plants. Despite these proposals, processing environmental agenda. The City has initiated a capacity will remain problematic, and the City residential collection pilot and recently adopted will compete with private haulers and other a mandate on large commercial producers of municipalities for any new capacity that comes food waste. The City aims to reduce landfilled online. waste 90 percent by 2030 and carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. Given these challenges, an alternative technology for food waste diversion – in-sink The focus on organic waste diversion stems food waste disposers – should also be considered from three key facts about New York City trash: as part of the City’s organics diversion strategy. 1) a large share of residential and commercial This simple but underutilized technology could trash is organic, adding up to 1.8 million tons divert a significant amount of food waste from each year; 2) managing residential trash is landfills to the City’s wastewater treatment expensive, costing taxpayers $1.7 billion per plant digesters without adding new trucks to year; and 3) current disposal practices rely the road. Garbage disposals benefit residents on transport to distant landfills, damaging the by reducing odorous kitchen trash and resultant environment. pest problems. While such devices have been legal in New York City since 1997, there has Alternative technologies already exist to reuse been opposition from building owners and organic material. But requiring the separate confusion about their legality and impact. The collection of organic waste will necessitate new Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) truck routes, adding significant new costs and has also expressed concerns about the impact worsening local truck traffic, as well as fees paid of additional food waste on its sewer and to transport organic material to composters treatment plant infrastructure and the City’s and digestion facilities outside the city. ability to comply with federal environmental regulations. If the City’s residential curbside collection program were expanded citywide the full costs, Today the cost of the City’s residential organics net of savings from landfill reduction, would pilot program is small, but in the next few years be between $177 million and $251 million it may expand significantly. The City aims to annually. Most of the cost is due to additional adopt its residential organic waste program collection truck routes; at least 88,000 new citywide by 2018, including expansion of truck-shifts would be needed each year. curbside collection as well as new drop-off sites, and the commercial mandate could Processing capacity will also pose a challenge. be expanded as greater processing capacity A survey of composting facilities within 150 becomes available. Such growth would impose miles found available annual capacity for substantial logistical and financial burdens on 176,000 tons, which could accommodate the city. Until the City can address the high just 10 percent of the city’s 1.8 million tons cost of residential garbage collection and of residential and commercial organic waste. secure adequate organics processing capacity, However, proposed developments within a more limited strategy may be appropriate. and outside the city could expand processing The following two targeted approaches could capacity significantly in coming years. Seven achieve meaningful environmental benefits new anaerobic digesters have been proposed without adding new costs. in the region, and New York City has signaled i Expand curbside collections only where could be reduced. DEP operates in a and when additional collection routes more constrained regulatory environment are not required. If participation levels are than DSNY so a joint effort is critical to high enough, the Department of Sanitation developing a technically feasible strategy. (DSNY) could expand the organics program This analysis finds two sanitation districts while avoiding additional collection routes. in the Bronx and two in Brooklyn in areas This could be achieved by either replacing served by adequate wastewater treatment a weekly refuse pickup with an organics infrastructure could reduce trash pickup if pickup or collecting refuse and organics 50 percent of residential food waste went simultaneously with special trucks with down the sink. Implementing this strategy two separate compartments. An analysis in these four districts would reduce truck of the city’s 59 sanitation districts finds traffic and pollution while diverting more such collection efficiencies are possible in than 17,000 tons of food waste and saving 10 districts if organics set-out rates match $4 million annually. Achieving these savings neighborhood recycling rates. Achieving would require collaboration with the City such efficiencies would require City Council and efforts to ensure high levels of Council approval and a significant boost residential usage. The distribution of costs to participation rates. However, if the City for the purchase, installation, and operation can implement organics diversion in these of the devices between the City, building 10 districts without increasing collections, owners, and residents would also need to the City could divert nearly 84,000 tons be resolved. per year without adding costs. At current average participation rates in the residential As New York City seeks to achieve environmental pilot, only one district qualifies. However, benefits through wider diversion of organic operational efficiencies or partnerships waste, municipal leaders should understand with the private sector might allow for cost- that unless residential trash collection costs are effective program expansions in additional reduced by fundamentally altering collection neighborhoods. routes and practices, new program costs will greatly overwhelm any potential savings from Consider encouraging use of in-sink landfill reduction. A significant expansion of disposers in select neighborhoods with organics collection may also outpace regional adequate wastewater treatment plant processing infrastructure if the City cannot infrastructure and capacity to reduce access new facilities under development. A garbage collection. DEP and DSNY should targeted and thoughtful approach, including in- collaborate to identify neighborhoods where sink food waste disposers where viable, would in-sink disposers could be used without preserve municipal resources and ensure burdening existing wastewater treatment organics programs are sustainable for the long infrastructure and where trash collections