Letter Report on the New York City Office of the Actuary’s Compliance with Local Law 36
Executive Summary
The audit determined whether the New York City Office of the Actuary’s (OA) complied with Local Law 36, which governs waste prevention, reuse and recycling by City agencies. The objective of this audit was to determine whether the OA complied with the local law, which is intended to make City agencies, and ultimately the City as a whole, more sustainable through efforts that promote a clean environment, conserve natural resources and manage waste in a cost-effective manner. In addition, the audit noted efforts the OA made to follow recycling rules established by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) pursuant to Local Law 36. Our audit of the OA is one in a series of audits we are conducting on the City’s compliance with the local law.
In 1989, New York City established Local Law 19, codified as Administrative Code §16-301, et seq., to establish an overarching “policy of the city to promote the recovery of materials from the New York City solid waste stream for the purpose of recycling such materials and returning them to the economy.” The law mandates recycling in New York City by residents, agencies, institutions and businesses, and includes a series of rules to guide implementation. Local Law 19 requires the City to establish environmental policies to conserve natural resources and manage waste in a sustainable and cost-effective manner.
In 2010, the City enacted Local Law 36 by which it amended the recycling provisions of Local Law 19 (Administrative Code §16-307) to require each City agency to develop a waste prevention, reuse and recycling plan and submit the plan to DSNY for approval by July 1, 2011. Local Law 36 also requires each agency to designate a lead recycling or sustainability coordinator for the agency and, where the agency occupies more than one building, to designate an assistant coordinator for each building the agency occupies. By July 1, 2012, and in each year thereafter, the lead recycling coordinator for each agency is required to submit a report to the head of its agency and to DSNY “summarizing actions taken to implement the waste prevention, reuse, and recycling plan for the previous twelve-month reporting period, proposed actions to be taken to implement such plan, and updates or changes to any information included in such plan.”
In addition, Local Law 36 requires the DSNY Commissioner to adopt, amend and implement regulations governing recycling by City mayoral and non-mayoral agencies. DSNY is also responsible for consolidating the information contained in agency reports and including this information in the agency’s annual recycling report.
Results
The audit found that the OA was not fully compliant with Local Law 36. While the OA source separates its paper waste and has designated a lead recycling coordinator for its one location, the OA did not establish a waste prevention, reuse and recycling plan for its agency and did not submit its annual reports for Fiscal Years 2012 through 2015 to its agency head or to DSNY as required by Local Law 36.
The audit recommended that the OA create the waste prevention, reuse and recycling plan and submit the required annual reports to its agency head, the Chief Actuary, and DSNY by July 1st of each year as required by Local Law 36.
In its written response, the OA agreed with the audit findings and stated, “As noted in the findings, the OA has followed the policy on the disposal of electronic waste and has made efforts to reduce paper waste agency-wide. The OA will establish a formal waste prevention, reuse and recycling plan and submit annual reports to the Chief Actuary and to the New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner.”