Why Washington, D.C., Is Losing Money on Garbage

Date: 23 Jul 2020 | posted in: Waste to Wealth | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In the News: Neil Seldman

July 23, 2020

Media Outlet: Washington City Paper

Neil Seldman, Director of ILSR’s Waste to Wealth initiative, was interviewed as part of the Washington City Paper’s investigation into how much money Washington, D.C., has lost in processing trash for private waste haulers.

“It’s a subsidy to some of the largest trash haulers in the country, plain and simple… This is a prima facie case of malfeasance,” he says.

The article claims that D.C.’s low fees for private waste haulers have cost taxpayers millions of dollars, impoverished the city’s trash processing system, and created environmental problems.

Neil also commented on what would be possible if the city were to readjust fees and costs:

“The two transfer stations are a gold mine for future revenue,” he says. “If D.C. adjusted the rates charged at its public trash transfer stations, the revenues could be dedicated to waste reduction, recycling, reuse, and composting programs.”

Read the full article here.

Photo via iStock.com/kozmoat98

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