You’d be forgiven for never having thought about commercial waste collection, but it’s currently one of the least regulated and most dangerous industries in New York City—and it’s about to be turned on its head.
The NYC Department of Sanitation is responsible for collecting all residential waste, but businesses hire private carters to collect their trash and recyclables. A block with 10 businesses could employ as many trash collection companies. That inefficiency means more trucks on the road, more air pollution and a higher risk for respiratory illnesses such as asthma.
Not only is there no coordination among the commercial truck routes, but also the trucks themselves are alarmingly unregulated and pose serious safety risks to both workers and everyone on the road. Between February 2014 and February 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation deemed 48 percent of private garbage trucks in New York City unsafe to operate and took them out of service—more than twice the national average. That’s more than 2,000 dangerous trucks with issues such as faulty brakes, falling cargo, broken headlights and turn signals and defective tires.
Imagine having to drive one of those cars for your job. Carl Orlando, a driver who has worked for several private sanitation companies, told his boss repeatedly that the trucks he was driving were unsafe, to no avail: “I’ve been sent out in trucks with bad brakes or bald tires,” Orlando revealed. “I once had to stop my truck by crashing into a light pole because the brakes wouldn’t work.” Mr. Orlando’s experience is not unusual. In fact, in 2014 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cited waste collection as the fifth deadliest occupation, ahead of policing or mining.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed to a solution: creating geographic zones with one or more selected private waste carter(s). The Request for Proposals will include requirements for strict safety measures for the trucks and for the workers, such gloves, shoes and reflective vests.
With more efficient routes and fewer trucks on the road, a zoned system offers an impressive impact on public health. According to a new report released by DSNY and the NYC Business Integrity Commission, the “vehicle miles traveled” by commercial waste trucks would decrease by two-thirds, from 23.1 million to 7 million. Greenhouse gases would reduce by 42 percent to 64 percent, and pollutants that affect respiratory illness, by 34 percent to 62 percent. Stringent safety standards would save countless lives.
I look forward to City Council oversight hearings to review the city’s plan ensuring worker and truck safety, benefits for businesses and residents and mechanisms precluding inflated costs to businesses. Although the commercial waste collection zoning won’t happen overnight—DSNY expects it to take five years to plan and implement the new system—the results will be spectacular.
Helen Rosenthal represents the Upper West Side in the New York City Council.