Lawmakers call for expansion of oversight in private sanitation industry

Multiple deaths in the Bronx have brought a local councilman to push for an overhaul of the private garbage industry.
Councilman Ritchie Torres is behind legislation that would expand the role of the Business Integrity Commission, a city agency established to eliminate organized crime and other forms of corruption in private carting industries.
Torres says the legislation would focus on three main goals in the private trash sector -- fighting organized crime, ending exploitation of workers and improving health and safety in the industry.
The move comes after two fatal accidents in 2018, including one where a 71-year-old pedestrian in Norwood was struck and killed by a Sanitation Salvage truck. Torres says the victim was an off-the-books worker for Sanitation Salvage.
Sanitation Salvage's license was yanked, and the company is now out of business. Torres say the BIC monitors private trash companies, but waste transfer sites mainly go unregulated. He says the bill would expand the agency's role to include garbage sites.
Workers who News 12 spoke to off-camera say they welcome the idea of tighter regulations in their industry.