New York has been working to reduce all its waste by recycling. Recently the great Metropolitan city has devised a new plan; separating food waste from other trash. It’s not only the officials who are working on this course of action; rather the city is getting both its residents and businessmen involved. Of course, since its only the start of a huge program, the activity is on voluntary basis only.
This might be a new initiative in New York, but across the US, more than 18 states and 180 cities are already working on recycling food waste products. Out of these, some cities ask a minimum fee to pick up waste products but there is no charge on the collection of food scraps and recyclable items. There are also places which run campaigns that encourage people into separating the food from other waste products.
In San Francisco, this separation of food waste and collection of recyclable items started on a voluntary basis but was made into a law by the year 2009. They have come a long way from where they stood in 2009. Even though up till now there was no charge for picking up food scraps, however from next month onwards, this will change and people will have to pay.
In New York on the other hand, there is no charge on the collection of trash as the costs are borne through local taxes. What does happen though is that a fine is issued if people do not separate recycling items from other trash. According to the Bloomberg administration, if food waste was recycled correctly, then the city would end up saving $100 million per year that is otherwise used for transportation costs and fees of landfill sites.
City officials have devised a plan whereby all the food waste will be collected and then recycled. This not only has a positive effect on the economy, it also benefits the environment. The food waste can be collected, decomposed and the biogas which is released as a by-product can be used to generate electricity. Many waste industrialists explain that in only a few years, cities will be selling their food waste for the production of electricity.
Most of the officials in New York are very hopeful about this new recycling program. They believe that with the right amount of persuasion, dedication and motivation, they too can achieve the target of completely getting rid of landfill sites.
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