What Happens to Recyclables?

The Department of Sanitation collects the following quantities of recyclables (from NYC residents, agencies, and institutions) and delivers them to private processors under contract with the City:

• Between 366,000 and 423,000 tons per year of mixed paper recyclables  
• Between 250,000 and 331,000 tons per year of metal, glass, and plastic recyclables   

In addition to its curbside recycling program, the Department also collects fall leaves and Christmas trees for composting.

ALSO SEE what to recycle for info on what is collected; see recycling videos for a virtual tour of the recycling process. Sorry, no tours are available at this time.

Mixed Paper Recyclables
Metal, Glass, and Plastic Recyclables
Fall Leaves
Christmas Trees

Mixed Paper Recyclables

New York City is fortunate to have a variety of local options to recycle the paper it collects from residents, agencies, and institutions.

The Department of Sanitation maintains contracts with various local NYC paper processors that have been in the paper recycling business for generations. The Department currently has paper processing contracts with the following companies:

• A&R Lobosco, Inc  
• Potential Industries, Inc. (subcontractor is Metropolitan Paper Recycling)
• Paper Fibres Corp
• Rapid Recycling
• Triboro Fibers
• Pratt Industries USA

Approximately half the paper that the Department collects for recycling goes to the first five processors. To keep track of tonnage, Sanitation trucks weigh in before delivering paper. The paper processors then separate the paper into various grades to sell on the open market. The majority of the paper received by these processors is sold for export.

The remaining paper that the Department collects for recycling from Staten Island, Manhattan, and parts of Brooklyn is delivered to a paper mill on Staten Island operated by Pratt Industries USA. To reduce truck traffic, the Department uses barges to transport Manhattan's recyclable paper to this mill.

The Pratt paper mill was built between 1995 - 1996, with extensive support from both the City's Economic Development Corporation and the Empire State Development Corporation. This mill was commissioned specifically to handle NYC's recyclable paper, and is one of the world's most technically advanced paper recycling mills.

The commingled mix of recyclable papers (newspapers, corrugated cardboard, magazines, and other papers) produce recycled linerboard for corrugated cardboard packaging products.

ALSO SEE what happens with staples, twine, window envelopes, or other enclosures in recycled junk mail.

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Metal, Glass, and Plastic Recyclables

All the metal, glass, and plastic recyclables that the Department collects for recycling goes to Sims Metal Management Municipal Recycling.

Sims Metal Management Municipal Recycling uses their waterfront facilities to accept, process, and then transport NYC's recyclables, which minimizes truck traffic on busy city streets.

As part of the company's long-term contract with the City, Sims Metal Management plans to build a new, state-of-the-art materials recovery facility at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

The completed facility will further minimize truck traffic because it will be capable of receiving barged materials and shipping out processed materials via both barge and rail. To help New Yorkers understand the recycling process, the company plans to construct a visitor education center on the site.

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