New York DEC releases final draft of 10-year solid waste management plan

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released the final draft of its 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan.

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the finalization of the 2023-2032 state Solid Waste Management Plan in a news release Dec. 27, 2023.

The plan includes initiatives to divert waste from landfills and to revive the recycled supply chain, which is an integral element to achieving the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions while promoting a just and equitable transition to a greener economy.

The plan has six major focus areas, which are waste reduction and reuse; recycling and recycling market development and resiliency; product stewardship and extended producer responsibility; organics reduction and recycling; toxics reduction in products; and advanced design and operation of solid waste management facilities and related activities.

The goal of the plan is to move the state to an 85 percent total waste stream recycling rate by 2050, according to the DEC.

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The DEC is already taking action to support items identified in the plan, including awarding nearly $2.9 million in grant funding to 23 municipalities statewide to help establish or expand food scrap recycling programs and facilities. Nearly $1.9 million of this funding was prioritized for 13 projects serving communities in potential environmental justice areas and helping support the continued equitable development of the organics recycling industry across the state.

The department also awarded nearly $2.2 million in grant funding to 47 emergency food relief organizations to assist with the purchase of equipment (such as trucks, refrigerated vehicles, freezers and refrigerators) which will assist these organizations in providing food to the more than two million people in New York State facing hunger.

Additionally, the DEC says it is “engaging with reuse partners across the state and will continue to work more closely with partners to identify needs to expand infrastructure and building material reuse, promote deconstruction and reuse through outreach and education, and develop priorities and strategies to ensure materials from the built environment are reused for their highest and best use.”