Composting Could Become Mandatory in New York

New methods to reuse “fast fashion” clothes, recycling of construction materials, and adoption of electric school buses could all become possible in New York City under far-reaching new climate legislation introduced Thursday by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

The proposals include measures to encourage New Yorkers to use the city’s composting program to cut down on the 3.1 million tons of garbage, one-third of which is food waste, households produce each year — measures that could eventually become mandatory, the legislation says. Johnson, who is running to replace Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2021, said he also would push proposals to convert Rikers Island into a renewable energy hub and push for solutions to protect the city’s shorelines from sea level rise.

For a deeper dive:

NY Post, Politico NY, New York Times

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