By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — New York City's yogurt tubs and take-out containers won't be wasting away in a landfill anymore if the City Council has anything to say about it.
The Council proposed new legislation Monday that would require the Department of Sanitation to recycle hard plastics including yogurt tubs, take-out containers, medicine bottles and flower pots.
"We want people to be able to recycle more things in more places," said Upper East Side City Council Member Jessica Lappin, lead sponsor of the bill, in a statement.
Council members estimate that adding hard plastics to the DSNY list will save 8,000 tons of plastic from landfills and incinerators.
The Council also proposed adding more recycling bins in public space, like the ones set up at Union Square and Times Square, to make it easier for residents to recycle.
The Department of Sanitation already has 290 bins set up as part of a 2007 pilot program to see if public space recycling could be possible in New York, said Nicole Kolinsky, a spokeswoman for the Council.
New Yorkers responded to the program by successfully recycling 95.2 percent of paper products and 63 percent of bottles at the bins, the NYC Waste Less program reported.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg expanded the program in 2008 and the Council hopes to add 300 bins within the next three years and 700 bins over a decade.
DSNY would also be required to round up hazardous household items annually if the legislation passes. Paint manufacturers and retailers could also opt to take back unused house paint.
The bills also aim to improve recycling at city schools and agencies.
