New Sanitation Chief: UES Garbage Facility Is Moving Forward

The new sanitation commissioner says she's ready to meet with the opponents of a key part of the city's Solid Waste Management Plan.

The group Pledge 2 Protect has been protesting the proposed East 91 Street Marine Transfer Station, saying it would bring air and water pollution to the neighborhood.

Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia told WNYC her department will move forward with the plan, but she plans to meet with the group.

“I want to hear directly from them,” Garcia said. “I want to get a first-hand sense of what they’re worried about.”

Garcia also said she wants to take them to see the marine transfer station currently operating on Staten Island.

“You can’t tell from the outside that we actually have refuse within the facility. There are that few odors coming out of it,” Garcia said.

Plans for the facility date back to 2006. Garcia said it will lessen the burden on the outer boroughs, which currently handle the majority of the city's trash, reduce fumes from trucks and cut costs.