Understanding New York City Wastes Over Time and Place

What is it about?

This study analyzed wastes from New York City (NYC) residents in 1990, 2004, 2013, and 2017, comparing it with data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 88 other locations. Rather than comparing the amount of each type of waste separately, this study used a method that looks at the big picture of the waste composition (i.e., multivariate distance analyses). This study found that NYC wastes were more similar across the five boroughs in a single year than in one borough over the 28-year time period. However, wastes set for recycling were more similar across 14 years than across the boroughs in a single year. Food and plastic wastes increased over time, while paper percentages fell. NYC data largely conformed to trends from the 88 other locations and did not generally agree with EPA data sets.

Featured Image

Photo by zibik on Unsplash

Photo by zibik on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Understanding what makes up our waste can help us make better choices about how to manage it. For example, knowing how much food waste there is can help in planning for composting programs, and understanding the quantity of plastics can help in dealing with plastic pollution. However, we showed that it is possible to make more considered comparisons by looking at entire waste streams wholistically than to compare individual components of the waste stream across multiple studies. And we showed that disposed wastes from 2017 in New York City vary from wastes disposed in 1990. Our study also shows that relying on EPA data may not be best for to make informed local waste management decisions.

Perspectives

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The research approach adopted multivariate distance analyses offers a significant advancement in how we understand and manage municipal solid waste (MSW). Traditional methods often analyze waste composition parameter by parameter, which can obscure the holistic picture. Our research demonstrates that by applying multivariate distance techniques, we can achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the similarities and differences in waste composition across various locations and time periods. While the findings may not be entirely unique, they indicate that NYC waste composition data often differ from EPA data, especially when measured as rates. It highlights the importance of local waste composition studies for accurate waste management planning, as EPA data may not be representative of specific locations.

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