A NCY watch-dog group, the Citizen Budget Commission, released a report on Thursday urging the city to build new waste-to-energy facilities to reduce the cost of waste management and to reduce greenhouse gase emissions.
Among findings in the report, the group estimated that NYC spends $95 per ton to transport garbage to out of area landfills. By assuming that it would only cost $66-77 per ton to shit to local waste-to-energy plants, the group estimates that the city would save $119 million a year and reduce gas emissions produced by trucks by 35 percent. Over the course of 30 years, the present value of savings would be almost $2 billion.
The report also called for programs to decrease waste generation and increase recycling rates.
The report coincides with Bloomberg administration plans for new waste-to-energy facilities and comes a week before the deadline for companies to submit proposals to the city for pilot plants within 80 miles of NYC.
