It still costs more to recycle paper, plastic, metal and glass in New York
City than to simply chuck everything into the trash. But the cost difference has
narrowed, and if the trend continues, recycling could end up being cheaper than
trash disposal within five years, according to an analysis released on Wednesday
by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.
Recycling costs the city $284 a ton, while curbside trash disposal comes to $267
a ton, according to the analysis, which was prepared for the environmental group
by DSM Environmental, an independent consulting firm in Vermont. The $17 per ton
difference comes to about 6 percent, and is significantly less than it was a few
years ago. When the city’s Independent Budget Office looked at recycling costs
in 2004, it found that the city spent $34 to $48 a ton more to recycle than to
send garbage to landfills.
“Here is proof positive that recycling is cost-competitive with other waste
disposal methods, to say nothing of cutting the city’s contribution to global
warming,” said Eric A. Goldstein, a senior lawyer at the environmental group.
According to the report, New York’s recycling programs provide the ...