According to Politico, there are over 700k gallons of leftover hand sanitizer that was created by jail inmates in New York. The hand sanitizer did not get used and is most likely going to be destroyed, which will cost millions to get rid of.
Andrew Cuomo, who was serving as governor of New York at the time, made the announcement in March 2020 that the state of New York would begin producing its own stock of sanitizer for potential use. The value of the remaining stockpile is around $4.3 million.
CNN reported at the time that Cuomo had stated that the cost to make one gallons of the sanitizers would be $6.10 per gallon. According to Politico, the fact that 700,000 gallons of sanitizer were not utilized results in a waste of sanitizer worth $4.3 million, which must be destroyed at a cost of additional millions of dollars.
Hand sanitizer under the brand name “NYS Clean” was developed by Cuomo using inmate labor from March to October of 2020. According to CNN, starting wages were equal to sixteen cents an hour. Cuomo lauded the greater alcohol level and floral aroma of NYS Clean, both of which were marketed as selling points for the product.
According to Politico, the 700,000 gallons of hand sanitizer are currently stored in warehouses located throughout the state of New York. It is believed that it will cost “millions of dollars” to dispose of the product, and it may be transported out of the state in hundreds of trucks to be burned.”
According to Politico, a spokeswoman for Governor Andrew Cuomo accused the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul, Cuomo’s lieutenant governor, for such large stockpile. The spokesperson said that the Cuomo administration supplied the hand sanitizer until his retirement in August of 2021.
According to Politico, in addition to the hand sanitizer that has not been used, the state of New York also has 89 brand new HVAC systems that have never been used and that cost “millions of dollars.” These systems will be put up for auction off this summer, most likely for a price that is lower than their valuation, and the proceeds will be donated to FEMA.
This is only one of many examples that illustrate how the government overreacted to the threat posed by COVID, which will continue to cost taxpayers for many years to come.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on WND.