New York City Hall Rally Opposes Intro 495 Waste Transfer Station Capacity Reduction Proposal
National Waste & Recycling Association coordinates gathering of nearly 100 waste employees, city officials, local workers, business reps
NEW YORK CITY, Jan. 23, 2015 /3BL Media/ - Two members of the New York City Council joined local workers and business representatives at a rally yesterday on the steps of City Hall in protest of Intro 495, a proposal to reduce waste transfer station capacity in certain city neighborhoods.
Photos from the rally against Intro 495 are available by request or at bit.ly/1wqPEWL.
Nearly 100 people participated in the rally on the steps of City Hall in New York City in opposition to Intro 495. Coordinated by the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), the rally included dozens of representatives each from Laborers Local Union 108, United Service Workers Union Local 339, and the International Union of Journeyman & Allied Trades Local 726, NWRA members, and business groups, including the New York City Restaurant Association. These groups gathered to protest that Intro 495 will increase traffic and truck emissions in many City neighborhoods, result in job losses in three boroughs, and increase waste removal costs for City businesses.
NWRA estimates that forcing carters to use marine transfer stations for waste disposal would increase disposal costs by up to $100 million—tripling for private carters—and would leave New York vulnerable to infrastructure failures in the event of a natural disaster similar to Superstorm Sandy.
City Councilmen Ben Kallos (District 5-Manhattan) and Mark Treyger (District 47-Brooklyn) addressed the crowd, along with Tom Toscano, chair of the National Waste & Recycling Association’s New York Chapter, and Mike Hellstrom, Greater New York Metropolitan Area business manager & secretary-treasurer of the Local 108. Toscano is the CFO of a transfer station affected by Intro 495.
Miguel Martinez, a Local 108 member, and environmentally conscious restaurateur Ed Tretter, owner of 67 Burger in Park Slope and Fort Greene, Brooklyn, also spoke to the crowd.
A hearing on Intro 495 is expected to occur next Wednesday, Jan. 28. For more information, contact David Biderman at davidb@wasterecycling.org.
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The National Waste & Recycling Association is the trade association that represents the private sector waste and recycling services industry. Association members conduct business in all 50 states and include companies that collect and manage garbage, recycling and medical waste, equipment manufacturers and distributors and a variety of other service providers. For more information about how innovation in the environmental services industry is helping to solve today’s environmental challenges, visit www.wasterecycling.org.
