Like most Americans, we New Yorkers have never been great at recycling or waste reduction. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, reports had New York businesses recycling a mere 40% of the 5.5 million tons of waste they produced per year. More realistic reports placed the figure at 9% to 25%. Residential recycling rates are often even worse.
When offices emptied out during the spring of 2020, recycling rates dropped even more as residential waste and recycling practices shifted and most of the country’s trash was generated in remote or work-from-home environments. Concerns over Covid-19 infection led to a rise in single-use materials, while increased online shopping meant a
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