Correctional facilities hold hundreds, sometimes thousands, of inmates.
As the New York State Department of Corrections has discovered, much of this waste is recyclable. Solid waste programs are present in each of the 70 correctional facilities under the jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Corrections, and nearly every one of them now recycles. The state correctional facilities are charged with holding the state's more than 71,000 inmates, in facilities from work camps on up to maximum security facilities. Just as in many other states, the correctional system is directly impacted by state recycling regulations, such as the Solid Waste Management Act of 1988. This act made it mandatory for all state-regulated facilities to incorporate a recycling program into their solid waste programs.