OPINION: Creating commercial waste zones would be a mistake, just ask Los Angeles

March 6, 2018 By Nelson Eusebio For Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Photo courtesy of Cagle Cartoons
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It’s not often that we in Brooklyn can learn from other cities, but today’s lesson is about garbage, which every city generates and struggles to manage.

A quick look at Los Angeles should send off alarm bells for Brooklyn and its small businesses. LA just implemented a new system for commercial waste — seven years in the making — that has disrupted these essential services, dramatically increased prices and closed local companies.

For the last year, the de Blasio administration has begun planning for a similar system of geographic zones and promising benefits that are largely uncertain. Like others throughout the city, Brooklyn businesses currently benefit from competition for waste-related services — lower prices, and better services, from efficient, well-regulated companies — that would be compromised through the administration’s proposal.

In LA, the unfortunate fact is that many customers saw their waste pickup costs double, triple or even quadruple — and its zoned system has generated more than 28,000 service complaints since it was launched last July. If Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal continues to advance, the very same problems could take place here — and we know that small businesses in Brooklyn and across New York City simply cannot afford those kinds of cost increases.

Additionally, New Yorkers should know that waste service companies operating in Brooklyn are generally small and medium-size family-owned businesses, some of which date back generations. They employ thousands of New Yorkers from local communities, including many who need second-chance opportunities for good-paying, stable jobs.

The current system isn’t broken, and the city should not rush to design a new system that could cause serious damage to small businesses in Brooklyn. Collecting waste, recyclables and organics may seem simple, but is actually remarkably complex — and ditching the current free-market system to follow the same path as LA would surely lead to serious consequences.

To date, the de Blasio administration and the City Council have not held any public hearings to discuss this issue and weigh the pros and cons of implementing a zone-based commercial waste system. We believe that is a mistake in light of the thousands of businesses and workers who would be directly impacted by such a plan.

Before going any further, the administration and the City Council must hold public hearings to determine whether to conduct such a massive experiment in New York.  

Every business has its unique set of challenges and particular ways of addressing them. Garbage collection is a large part of a grocery store’s day-to-day operations. By taking away this choice in provider, and eliminating the ability to negotiate cost, collection times and level of service, the city is essentially taking away our ability to effectively operate neighborhood grocery stores. The only choice left will be how to compensate for increased costs: whether it’s laying off workers, increasing the cost of groceries or as a last resort, shutting the doors of another small business. 

Brooklyn is already home to some of the largest swathes of the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) — a program that “promotes the establishment and expansion of neighborhood grocery stores in underserved communities.”   Pursing a zone-based commercial waste system that has a proven track record of failure will work against these types of efforts to promote and expand businesses in underserved communities in Brooklyn. 

De Blasio regularly reminds us that “small businesses are the lifeblood of this city” — and we agree. While the city’s expanding environmental goals are important, so is concern for the growing costs of doing business in New York.  Let’s slow down this process and look at all options for improving our system for managing commercial waste. A real discussion of the issues will make it clear that when it comes to this industry, zones are just not the answer.

 

Nelson Eusebio is a board member of the National Supermarket Association.

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