A garbage plan

To the editor:

Mayor Adams, and his Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch are taking advantage of NYC residents living in buildings of one to nine units. They are imposing an unreasonable requirement under the penalty of repeated fines by forcing us to purchase trash bins from their chosen dealer, OTTO. Buildings of 10 or more units are receiving large bins at no cost. This is abusive and inconsiderate, and an added burden to many cash-strapped homeowners.

When the City implemented plastic and glass recycling it provided the blue bins. When it implemented recycling food waste we once again received the brown bins. Now this mayor is targeting homeowners for the benefit of this company. This is discriminatory and burdensome to a large sector of the NYC population.

With about 3.7 million housing units in the city, it is probable that about 50 percent will fall under the one to nine unit category affected by this unfair law. According to those figures, and with each bin costing $54.60, that adds up to $100 million payable to OTTO at the onset.

But we will not only have to purchase new containers now, we will have to purchase them as often as necessary thereafter, when the bin is damaged or stolen, or face a hefty fine.

Large residential buildings will receive as many commercial sized bins as needed free of charge. The city has already contracted with a company Contour by leasing the first 1,500 large scale bins that will be distributed in Harlem next year at a cost of $7 million, with a planned expansion to cover all large buildings throughout NYC. What sets those residents apart from dwellers of smaller buildings?

We all understand there is a benefit to removing plastic bags from sidewalks, but to single us out for one company’s benefit is unjust. The cost of these bins should be shouldered by the city for all its citizens, not just for those chosen by the mayor.

Rebeca Pagan-Rodriguez