Whereas: The New York City Department of Sanitation (the Department) recognizes and supports that the State and Federal governments have given top priority to waste prevention in the hierarchy of solid waste management, and

Whereas: The Department, in its Solid Waste Management Plan, has indicated that the implementation of waste prevention programs costs roughly one-tenth as much as integrated recycling, composting, incineration, ash management, and landfilling programs, and has thus projected a net savings of almost 100 million dollars per year by avoiding the collection, processing, and disposal costs of 7% of the waste stream, amounting to $700 to $800 million cumulatively by 2010, and these savings may even be greater with greater achievements in waste prevention,

Whereas: Waste Prevention minimizes depletion of our nation's natural, mineral, energy, and water resources, and reduces a myriad of negative, often toxic, environmental impacts on air, water, land, and life which are created in the extraction of natural resources, refining, shipping, production, marketing, use, and disposal of consumer products and packaging, and thus, waste prevention is the most ecologically sound waste management alternative, and

Whereas: The reduction of toxics, such as heavy metals, chlorine, sulfur, and nitrogen, present in solid waste, would reduce the quantity of pollutants released to the environment when solid waste is recycled, composted, incinerated or landfilled, and

Whereas: Efforts to shift the widespread and increasing use of disposable products and packaging to a greater reliance on reusables and refillables requires legislative incentives for waste generators, as well as a dedicated source of funding and provision of staffing for expansion of Department waste prevention programs to enable more intensive and coordinated planning by the Department and other New York City agencies targeted to educating and inspiring New York City businesses, institutions, government agencies and residents, and

Whereas: Legislative measures, including but not limited to, economic incentives and disincentives to guide consumer purchases of products and packaging, and monetary penalties for violations of waste prevention requirements, are necessary to provide waste prevention incentives and generate a dedicated source of funding for waste prevention programs, as well as recycling programs if sufficient funding is available,

Therefore, Be It Resolved: THAT THE MANHATTAN CITIZENS' SOLID WASTE ADVISORY BOARD (MCSWAB) CALLS UPON THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION TO ACCELERATE ITS WASTE REDUCTION AND REUSE PROGRAMS IMMEDIATELY IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE AT LEAST A 10% REDUCTION LEVEL FROM THE 1988 BASELINE BY 1997, AND THAT LONGER-TERM WASTE PREVENTION GOALS FOR THE CITY (e.g., 20% BY 2002, AND 30% BY 2010), WITH INTERIM GOALS AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, BE ESTABLISHED,

Be It Further Resolved: THAT THE MCSWAB CALLS UPON ALL CITY AGENCIES, BOARDS (INCLUDING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION) CORPORATIONS, AND AUTHORITIES TO DEVELOP COORDINATED PLANS AND INSTITUTE PROGRAMS TO EDUCATE THEIR PERSONNEL, TO REDUCE THEIR OWN WASTE, AND OTHERWISE PROMOTE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE CITY'S WASTE PREVENTION GOALS, AND

Be It Further Resolved: THAT THE MCSWAB CALLS UPON THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE WASTE PREVENTION LEGISLATION TO PROMOTE THE REDUCTION OF BOTH THE VOLUME AND TOXICITY OF THE SOLID WASTE STREAM.

Be It Further Resolved: THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION BE STRUCTURED TO INCLUDE A SEPARATE OFFICE OF WASTE PREVENTION, PARALLEL AND EQUAL TO THE OFFICE OF RECYCLING, HEADED BY A DIRECTOR OF WASTE PREVENTION.

Be It Further Resolved: THAT THE MCSWAB CALLS UPON THE MAYOR AND THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT AND OTHER AGENCIES CHARGED WITH IMPLEMENTING WASTE PREVENTION WITH THE NECESSARY EXPENSE AND CAPITAL BUDGET AND AUTHORIZATION FOR STAFF INCREASES TO MEASURE AND ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS, AND TO PLAN AND IMPLEMENT POLICY, AND EDUCATIONAL, RESEARCH, AND OTHER PROGRAMS TO MAXIMIZE WASTE PREVENTION.