NYCHA’s Katy Burgio Wins Waste360 40 Under 40 Award
Katy Burgio, Deputy Director of Sustainability Programs for NYCHA’s Asset and Capital Management group, was recently named one of 2024’s Waste360 40 Under 40 Award winners. The Waste360 40 Under 40 Awards recognize and honor the next generation of professional leaders whose work is shaping the future of the waste and recycling industry. The winners are involved in every area of waste and recycling, including haulers, municipalities, composters, recycling professionals, policymakers, and product suppliers.
In recognizing Ms. Burgio’s accomplishments, Waste360 said: “Katy Burgio has made significant strides in advancing waste management initiatives at the New York City Housing Authority since joining five years ago. As the lead of NYCHA’s Sustainability Programs Team, Burgio oversees the implementation of waste management plans and the Authority’s sustainability agenda [to ensure] equal access to waste and recycling services for low-to-moderate-income households… Burgio’s leadership is a shining example of the potential for women in waste management and underscores the importance of addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities in sustainability efforts.”
Since joining NYCHA in 2019, Ms. Burgio has worked on and led a team in NYCHA’s Asset & Capital Management Division focused on improving the quality of life for residents by updating and rethinking waste infrastructure across NYCHA’s portfolio. Starting with the 2019 NYCHA 2.0 Waste Management Plan, she and her team have advocated for and received more than half a billion dollars in City funds to replace aged equipment, enhance working conditions for staff, and improve residents’ experience with waste disposal. Ms. Burgio has worked on the procurement and design-build of the first (known) retrofit pneumatic waste collection system (which will be the first residential system built in the US since the 1970s), created a NYCHA waste calculator for planning NYCHA’s infrastructure and helping PACT developer teams, and other policy-setting programs in waste. She was recently promoted to Deputy Director of Sustainability Programs, which has her leading resiliency, solar, and micromobility programs in addition to the waste portfolio. She’s excited to continue to improve the quality of life for NYCHA residents while simultaneously addressing and mitigating climate hazards.
“Congratulations to Katy Burgio on this well-deserved recognition,” said Siobhan Watson, Senior Director for Sustainability at NYCHA. “Katy’s hard work is apparent in the impressive results she and her team have achieved in modernizing waste management at NYCHA: from leading the design and construction of NYCHA’s first pneumatic system to leading the development of new designs for waste yards, her team’s work has advanced how NYCHA addresses this ubiquitous infrastructure. We look forward to seeing how Katy continues to advance Sustainability work in her recently expanded role as Deputy Director of Sustainability Programs.”
In discussing her selection for the award, Ms. Burgio emphasized the excellence of the group she leads and the work they’ve done over the past few years: “We have really amazing people on this team, and each success has been a team effort.”
For more information on NYCHA’s sustainability, waste management, and recycling efforts, please visit https://www.nyc.gov/site/nycha/about/sustainability.page.
To read an interview that Waste360 conducted with Ms. Burgio, visit https://www.waste360.com/sustainability/burgio-tackles-tough-sustainability-challenges-in-new-york-city.
