Almost everything costs more in New York City — including the cost of hauling away garbage.
The city’s trash came in as the most expensive in the nation to collect at $251 a ton in a survey by the Citizens Budget Commission.
By comparison, Washington, DC, paid $182.
At the bottom of the heap, Arlington, Texas, pulled off something of a fiscal miracle by spending a paltry $7 a ton on waste removal, though that was in 2009.
Still, that year New York City taxpayers shelled out $228.
“New York City’s system for collecting and disposing of garbage creates exceptionally high costs and diminishes resources for other priorities,” warned Carol Kellerman, president of the Citizens Budget Commission.
At virtually every step, the fiscal watchdog found the city was paying more.
Total collection and disposal costs came in at $431 per ton, more than double that of private carters that managed to do the job for $185.
Recycling materials cost the city $629 a ton to collect.
Sanitation workers receive incentives — including “productivity” bonuses — to remove waste more efficiently.
But the commission found workers received the bonuses even if they didn’t hit their individual collection targets, as long as their entire district did.
Sanitation workers’ salaries start at a modest $33,746, but jump to $69,339 after five years. With differentials, overtime and other additions, the average salary in 2012 was $88,870, according to the commission.
When benefits were included, the cost to taxpayers averaged more than $150,000 a year.
The commission also questioned “inefficiencies” it said were built into the system because of union contracts that require minimum refuse collections of twice a week in all neighborhoods, even in areas where trucks don’t come back full.
Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia defended her work force, which the agency boasts is the largest in the world with 7,197 uniformed workers and 2,048 civilians.
“A well-trained, professional work force that performs a multitude of assignments naturally costs more than their counterparts in the private carting business,” she said in a statement.
“In essence, you get what you pay for and in NYC, we pay for and receive the highest quality sanitation services in the country.”
The city spends about $1.6 billion out of its general revenues to handle 3.8 million tons of trash a year.
Kellerman suggested now is the time for the administration to look for savings in a new labor contract with sanitation workers.