Dive Brief:

• A new report issued by New York City’s Independent Budget Office (IBO) estimates the cost of constructing a marine transfer station in New York City will triple waste management costs for the city.
• A temporary plan that entails waste being transported to transfer stations in New Jersey and Yonkers, NY would cost $93 per ton, while IBO estimates for waste shipped to the proposed transfer station in the Upper East Side would balloon to $278 per ton.
• The higher cost for the Upper East Side station stems from the selected shipping methods for the waste, i.e. via barge and rail. 

Dive Insight:

As outlined in the study, the current value of exporting waste to the existing stations for the next 20-year timeframe is $253.2 million. When analyzing costs surrounding the construction and operation of the new marine transfer station, that figure balloons to $632.5 million. 

David Biderman, the vice president of government affairs, chapter operations & general counsel for the National Waste & Recycling Association (NW&RA), told Waste 360, “This study confirms what we have been telling elected officials and the business community for more than a year - reducing private sector transfer station capacity will dramatically increase the cost of waste disposal for our customers.”