NEW YORK, NY June 03, 2005 —A civic group's analysis of Mayor Bloomberg's ambitious garbage export plan finds it would be much more expensive than the current system in the short term.

The mayor's plan would re-build and re-open four marine waste transfer stations, including one on the Upper East Side that faces fierce opposition by residents.

At these facilities, and several privately owned ones, garbage would be packed into containers, barged to railroads, and shipped out by train. The Independent Budget Office says this will cost 100 million dollars more a year than the current truck based plan.

But over 20 years' time, the IBO says, the city will likely save money. The National Solid Wastes Management Association, an industry group, says the city should just enter into long-term contracts with haulers. But a spokesman for the mayor says that will do little to cut the number of trucks on city streets.