The recession is trashing the city’s recycling efforts.
New York is on pace to lose $6.5 million from its program this year, as the market for refuse turns to garbage worldwide, Department of Sanitation officials said.
By the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the city will have spent $15 million to get rid of metal, glass and plastic, an increase of $1.8 million from last year.
It will take in only $8.5 million from sales of recyclable paper, compared to $14 million the previous year, said Robert Lange, director of the agency’s recycling program.
The city never made money on anything but paper.
Doug Turetsky, of the city’s Independent Budget Office, blamed the problem on the difficulty in selling used paper amid China’s sinking economy.
China had been one of the leading buyers of reused paper, but the country slowed its purchase as its exports dropped worldwide.
Although the city might save money by suspending recycling, it’s continuing the program for environmental reasons, officials said.