Dive Brief:

• The Working Families Party — a political party working to "raise standards for working families" — is joining The Transform Don't Trash NYC coalition that pushes for changes in regulations of private carters and waste transfer stations that handle the city's commercial garbage.
• The coalition charges that some solid waste management companies underpay workers, do not adequately train them, do not comply with city recycling regulations, and generate excessive truck traffic due to ineffective collection routes. The group aims to establish commercial collection zones with one contractor assigned to specific areas, a plan that private carters oppose, claiming it would present a barrier to free market competition.
• New York City is conducting a study to determine the feasibility of establishing the collection zones.

Dive Insight:

The city is working steadfastly to reach for greater diversion figures, and stakeholders within the municipality believe stepping up to a push for reform is one more mechanism to try and do it.

"This is a great opportunity for our city to demonstrate its commitment to a zero waste future with maximum recycling and good jobs," said Bill Lipton, state director of New York Working Families, in a statement to Politico. "We can and should transform our archaic commercial waste system into a highly effective national model."

Lipton’s statement comes months after a Transform Don't Trash NYC survey of 500 small businesses found disparities in services provided to them versus offerings to larger companies. The majority responded they are charged "arbitrary prices rather than standard rates," 90% of small businesses pay a flat rate regardless of the trash they generate, and 95% receive no discount for separating recyclables.