Bloomberg to Require New Yorkers to Recycle Food for Composting

I did not find any thread about this matter, so I hope this newspiece hasn´t been posted yet

New York City will require residents to separate food waste for collection to be composted by 2016, following a voluntary program at 150,000 single-family homes and 100 apartment buildings.

Food scraps make up about 1.2 million tons, or 35 percent, of the city’s annual waste, which gets sent to landfills at a cost of about $80 per ton, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in February, when he announced the goal. Recycled waste could be used as fertilizer or converted to natural gas at much lower prices, the mayor said. The initiative is part of a broader goal to divert 30 percent of waste from landfills by 2017.

The residential program will initially work on a voluntary basis, but officials predict that within a few years, it will be mandatory. New Yorkers who do not separate their food scraps could be subject to fines, just as they are currently if they do not recycle plastic, paper or metal.

NY Times Article
Bloomberg.com Article

That is a wonderful idea in my opinion. The amount of private food waste (and also corporate, although do not know whether this applies to companies) is extreme and I doubt anything can be done to make people waste less. Something was needed to be done and whether we like it or not, this actually is the best way to handle such wasting, otherwise people simply will not listen. NYC is one of the largest cities in the world and such actions are necessary in order to lessen the pollution and waste from the large population. Sometimes I severely disagree with the decisions of authorities, although this is one I am happy for, if it goes mandatory, especially if the waste will be used for biogas. Good example for other cities to follow.

Its a wonderful idea? To REQUIRE this be done?

I agree, its what people should do (we've been doing it for years in Oregon), but a LAW that REQUIRES it?

talk about over legislation....

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Its a wonderful idea? To REQUIRE this be done?

I agree, its what people should do (we've been doing it for years in Oregon), but a LAW that REQUIRES it?

talk about over legislation....

This is something that SHOULD be done, although there are always idiots who refuse to do it, for whatever reason and for them the only making it into a law would help.

I do not believe in any person having the right to waste, as other people suffer from the waste also, sooner or later. This would save lots of money from the city budget at the end, estimatedly nearly 100 million a year + if cheaper electricity.

The same law is already being implemented in several other US cities, like Seattle and San Francisco + many European cities. In some cities the biogas is used to run the public transportation - saves lots of gas and is much better for the air.

I support such action 100% - only such laws will help to achieve good results, otherwise some people will just continue doing what they do, as they just do not care.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is just a control freak!

You can't smoke, the soda fiasco, the oil for fried foods, now this!?!?

I agree it's a good idea but the guy is nothing less than a dictator. To me he just seems to focus on some of the silliest things.

Oh well, I live in Phoenix where we throw our trash in the dumpster. If you New Yorkers want to pick through the trash then feel free.

More and more I thank God that I do not live in the People's Republic of New York. What is wrong with people there? Why do you put up with this tin-pot dictator? He is almost as bad as dear leader imo.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Its a wonderful idea? To REQUIRE this be done?

I agree, its what people should do (we've been doing it for years in Oregon), but a LAW that REQUIRES it?

talk about over legislation....

A "requirement" that's unenforceable.

This is intended to gently persuade people to be more responsible. It cannot possibly be enforced on any real scale. And, I support it too if I'm honest. I wish my local authority would introduce things like this to make people take some personal responsibility.

Maybe the state and government wouldn't have to be nannies if the people weren't children?

Personally, as much as I am not a fan of Bloomberg in the slightest, this one is actually a very good idea especially for one of the largest cities in the world. Where do you think all the garbage that that one city produces goes? Garbage disposal is actually a very serious problem for cities because, well, people don't like living by landfills and that would be in your average city. NYC, as the second largest city in the world, would be an incredibly serious waste problem. This time, Bloomberg is actually acting like a mayor to address a city problem as opposed to acting like everybody's daddy in regards to how much soda they can drink.

Composting food waste actually does reduce down landfill waste by a great deal. Between composting and recycling, garbage production for a city can be reduced down dramatically. I live in an area where we do both and, as a family of 4, we use a very small garbage can for a weekly pick up and half the time it isn't full. All the stuff in the compost and recycling bins don't end up in a landfill. Smart.

Originally posted by Rocker2013

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Its a wonderful idea? To REQUIRE this be done?

I agree, its what people should do (we've been doing it for years in Oregon), but a LAW that REQUIRES it?

talk about over legislation....

A "requirement" that's unenforceable.

This is intended to gently persuade people to be more responsible. It cannot possibly be enforced on any real scale. And, I support it too if I'm honest. I wish my local authority would introduce things like this to make people take some personal responsibility.

Maybe the state and government wouldn't have to be nannies if the people weren't children?

The fact that the law is virtually unenforceable makes it even worse. Making stupid laws makes people have less respect for the rule of law in general. Government governs best when it governs least. We already have way too many stupid laws. We don't need to add more. We need to go through our laws and cut out all of the stupid ones.

reply to post by Cabin

Bloomberg to Require New Yorkers to Recycle Food for Composting

Not against the idea of recycling by any means but... Bloomberg has come across as a petty, hypocritical tyrant already. It's one thing to educate people so they can make the right choices, it's quite another to create a string of laws and edicts that force people to behave in a way that suits a certain view or agenda.

On the flipside, it will cover the disposal of a ton of vomit at the annual Nathans hot dog shoveling contest. You still can't have a 20 oz soda but you can try and eat a hundred hotdogs... or until you turn in the round-trip meal ticket at the recycle bin, lol.