Many people are familiar with the three R's: reduce, reuse, recycle. Now, the Office of the New York State Comptroller is asking an environmental conservation agency to get better at a fourth R: recordkeeping. That's because the state agency has not been adequately recording recycling data, according to a newly released audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is responsible for monitoring recycling facilities throughout the state, including Recyclables Handling and Recovery Facilities (RHRFs). According to the comptroller's report, between January 2021 and December 2023, the DEC did not receive 32 percent of required annual reports from RHRF facilities, and the recycling figures that were reported were "frequently inaccurate or not adequately supported."
