By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CITY HALL — New York City got back into the recycling game Monday with new laws touted as the most comprehensive package of recycling reforms in two decades.
The bills, signed into law Monday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will more than triple the number of recycling bins on city streets, up fines for violators and eliminate the need to check for numbers at the bottom of plastic containers.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said she hopes the new laws will help New York make up some of the ground it has lost over the past 21 years.
"Twenty years ago, when we passed Local Law 19, we were the leaders in urban recycling," she said. "Unfortunately, over the past two decades we have fallen behind."
"With these 11 bills, we put ourselves back in the lead role, exactly where we should be," she said.
As part of the reform package, the city will up the number of public recycling receptacles on the streets from the current 300 to 500 within the next three years and 1,000 within the next 10.
All rigid plastic containers, including yogurt and take-out containers will also now be recyclable, eliminating the need to check what type of plastic something is made from.
"I am no longer going to search for my eye glasses to figure out whether that food container is or isn’t recyclable, to read what the number is on the bottom," Quinn said.
The laws also mandate the placement of paper recycling bins in every school classroom, the publishing of new City recycling guide, the creation of a new clothing recycling program and a push for more composting.
