Better Oversight of Recycling Facilities’ Activities and Reporting Needed to Help State Meet Solid Waste Management Goals
An audit by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) lacks reliable information on how much material is recycled across New York state. Auditors found missing reports, inaccurate data and inconsistent oversight of recycling facilities are limiting the state’s ability to accurately measure recycling efforts and track progress toward its environmental and emissions reduction goals. According to DEC, solid waste accounts for about 12% of New York’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The audit examined whether DEC’s monitoring, inspection, and enforcement actions provided adequate oversight of recycling facilities between January 2021 and December 2023.
“Reliable recycling data is essential to understanding how much waste is being diverted from landfills and incinerators through recycling,” DiNapoli said. “If recycling data is incomplete or inaccurate, the state can’t effectively evaluate whether recycling efforts are working or track their impact in reducing waste and its environmental impact.”
Missing Reports and Incomplete Data
Recycling facilities should have submitted 1,065 annual reports during the audit period detailing how much material they received, recycled and discarded. Auditors found DEC did not receive 341 of those reports, nearly one-third of the total required.
Of the reports that were submitted, nearly two-thirds were missing required information necessary to determine how much waste was actually recycled. As a result, DEC lacks complete statewide recycling data.
DEC Could Not Verify Reported Recycling Data
The audit found recycling facilities could not always verify the information reported to DEC. Auditors reviewed a sample of facilities and found many could not provide records supporting how much material they received, how much was recycled and how much ultimately ended up as waste.
The audit also found many facilities failed to report how much material they discarded rather than recycled. Without that information, DEC may not know how much waste is ultimately being diverted from landfills and how much is being thrown away.
Inconsistent Inspections and Enforcement
Auditors found that 138 of 389 registered and permitted recycling facilities, or 35%, were not inspected during the three-year audit period. Inspections are important because they are DEC’s primary tool for verifying the information facilities report and identifying potential compliance issues.
The audit also found enforcement actions were limited. Although 33 facilities failed to submit any annual report during the audit period, DEC issued violations to only three facilities.
Recommendations
The audit recommends that DEC improve the reliability of facility data, develop procedures to verify annual report information, strengthen inspection practices and documentation, establish written guidance for inspections and enforcement, and ensure follow-up actions are consistently documented and applied.
DEC generally accepted the audit’s findings and said it will take appropriate action to implement the recommendations in the report. However, DEC said the audit overstated reporting deficiencies and disputed aspects of the report’s characterization of facility reporting data.
Audit
Department of Environmental Conservation Oversight of Recyclables Handling and Recovery Facilities