New York state's recycling data is garbage, according to a new report by the state comptroller.
The Department of Environmental Conservation requires the roughly 400 statewide refuse facilities to file annual reports about the waste they bring in, including how much of it is diverted to recycling. But an audit by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli of the department’s records from 2021 to 2023 show nearly a third of the reports were missing.
The audit found the department lacks data on how much recycling is happening in New York, as well as erroneous and missing information and inconsistencies in the agency’s reporting and oversight methods. Overall, the audit found the state can’t reliably measure how much waste is recycled.
“Reliable recycling data is essential to understanding how much waste is being diverted from landfills and incinerators through recycling,” DiNapoli said in the report. “If recycling data is incomplete or inaccurate, the state can’t effectively evaluate whether recycling efforts are working or track their impact in reducing waste and its environmental impact.”
The audit included a response from the Department of Environmental Conservation. It accepted the audit’s analysis, and said it will take appropriate action to improve data collection, reliability and inspection. But the agency also said that the report inflated its claims of reporting deficiencies.
The agency uses the annual reports to calculate the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. The conservation department estimates that solid waste is about 12% of statewide climate pollution. But the audit’s findings suggest the greenhouse gas emissions in New York are likely much higher, advocates said.
”The state is flying blind because it doesn't have good data to rely on in terms of how well the recycling efforts are working,” said Blair Horner, senior policy adviser at the advocacy nonprofit New York Public Interest Research Group. “What better evidence is there of a lack of energy to enforce a program than the fact that the most basic elements of it are either ignored or poorly implemented? And you can't hold yourself or the public can't hold the administration accountable unless they have good data.”
The recycling records collected by the state are plagued with unverified data, the auditors found. The conservation department did not verify much of the information it received and the facilities submitting the data could not provide paperwork to substantiate how much was recycled, according to the audit. Many facility reports did not include how much solid waste was discarded rather than recycled.
Overall, facilities were only able to provide adequate records for about 21% of the recyclables received and about 6% of what was bound for landfill and other final disposal methods.
“DEC regulations do not require facilities to provide supporting documentation along with their annual reports but do require facilities to attest to the accuracy of the information provided on the accompanying forms,” the department wrote in its response.
The department did not perform inspections on more than one-third of facilities statewide during the three-year period analyzed by the audit. The comptroller’s office said that inspections are necessary for confirming information submitted by facilities and pinpointing any compliance issues.
“You can't solve a problem unless you try to do it, and to create a system where the public can hold the government accountable for whether or not it's meeting the goals that it says it wants to meet,” Horner said. “Both of those are missing, at least so far right now.”
The annual reports are also used to assess the progress of the state’s solid waste reduction goals. According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, nearly 80% of what is thrown-out as trash still has value, as recycling or composting. The state’s goal is to reduce waste by 85% by 2050. The statewide recycling rates range from 15 to 21% despite the fact that nearly all households have access to recycling services.
“ You want to maximize the level of recycling and ensure the people who are doing this work are doing what they're actually supposed to be doing,” said Tina Kim, deputy comptroller of the division of state government accountability. “You can't successfully manage a program without basically having complete and accurate data.”
