NYCHA’s Waste Calculator to Efficiently Manage Waste and Increase Recycling
Waste management is one of the most complex challenges that NYCHA faces. Since the release of NYCHA’s 2.0 Waste Management Plan in 2019 and NYCHA’s new Sustainability Agenda in 2021, NYCHA is making comprehensive changes to its waste management practices and infrastructure. One outcome of these changes has been the NYCHA Waste Calculator.
NYCHA generates over 190,000 tons of waste every year – the equivalent of half the weight of the Empire State Building – but only 2 percent of that waste is recycled (according to a 2018 study). Most of NYCHA’s waste yards were built with the “trash to landfill” pipeline in mind, but as NYCHA shifts to a more sustainable future, right-sized equipment and storage space for recycling is necessary for NYCHA to increase its recycling rate.
Inspired by the model developed for the Zero Waste Design Guidelines, NYCHA’s Capital Projects’ Sustainability Team created a waste calculator to estimate waste storage needs at the development and consolidation levels.
“The calculator allows NYCHA to plan for one-third of the waste stream that is recyclable,” said Deb Lopes, Program Associate in NYCHA’s Sustainability team. “If NYCHA improves its recycling rate, it will save the City millions of dollars and reduce its environmental impact. Waste from NYCHA’s residents is very similar to that of other residents in NYC – the difference is how it is managed and stored.”
Users can adjust the calculator’s settings to see how assumptions around capture rate, container size, and development “clustering” impact expected tonnage and storage needs by waste stream. Clustering is common among NYCHA developments – it’s when staff and resources, including waste storage and equipment, are shared between developments. The Waste Calculator tool was recently presented publicly during NYC Open Data Week 2022, an annual festival of community-driven events organized and produced by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics and BetaNYC.
The calculator is a major asset when designing NYCHA’s new waste yards. Through its City Capital Action Plan, NYCHA has acquired over a half billion dollars in funding to upgrade waste infrastructure across its portfolio, with a large portion of that going toward upgrading waste yards over the next 10 years. These massive upgrades will improve cleanliness around the developments, reduce pests and litter, and provide right-sized trash and recycling storage, enabling NYCHA staff to be more sustainable.
“Without infrastructure, NYCHA residents and staff cannot properly recycle,” explained Ms. Lopes. “This calculator will allow NYCHA to provide the right infrastructure for all waste streams.”
The Sustainability team plans to make the calculator available on NYCHA’s website for NYCHA residents, developers, and the public to explore and investigate waste and diversion potentials at their development.
