70 Percent of NYC Trash Now Covered by Bin Rules as First Residential Container Requirement in 50 Years Takes Effect

When preorders of NYC Bins began in July, Mayor Adams committed that bins ordered by October 1 would receive guaranteed delivery November 12.

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): As part of the Adams administration’s ongoing and successful effort to get trash off the streets of New York City once and for all, the first trash bin requirement for residential waste since the early 1970s takes effect today, November 12, 2024. All properties with 1-9 residential units – everything from single-family homes to 9-unit apartment buildings – must now place their trash out for collection in a bin of 55 gallons or less with a secure lid. The cheapest high-quality bin that meets these requirements, the official NYC Bin, is available at www.bins.nyc, and New Yorkers have purchased nearly 400,000 bins since orders began in July.

“For decades, New Yorkers have gotten accustomed to seeing trash bags on their streets, but our administration has refused to accept the status quo,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “In just over a year, we’ve gone from putting all 44 million pounds of trash per day on our streets to having 70 percent of that waste covered by bin rules – and much to our rats’ disappointment, we have a plan for the rest. Congratulations to Commissioner Tisch and the team at DSNY for leading the ‘Trash Revolution.'”

“The overwhelming passage of Proposition 2 last week shows that New Yorkers refuse to accept the status quo of piles of black trash bags on the street, especially when cities around the world have solved this problem,” said Jessica Tisch, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation. “We are already seeing widespread compliance with commercial containerization requirements that have been in effect since March, and as this rule takes effect today, rats across the five boroughs should get ready to go hungry.”

When preorders of NYC Bins began in July, Mayor Adams committed that bins ordered by October 1 would receive guaranteed delivery November 12. That promise made is now a promise kept, with 215,773 bins ordered before October 1 and now all delivered to New Yorkers. Since then, more than 150,000 more bins have been ordered, and delivery is ongoing. While the rule is effective today, a warning period will extend through the end of 2024, with issuance of fines to commence on January 2, 2025. This warning period has been set at six weeks rather than the usual four to allow for further deliveries before summonsing begins.

As with existing commercial containerization requirements, the fine for leaving trash on New York City streets rather than in a secure bin of 55 gallons or less is $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense, and $200 for a third offense and each thereafter. By the time summonsing begins in early 2025, New Yorkers will be able to report noncompliance with all containerization requirements – commercial, residential, and city agency/special use – to 311.

Buildings with 1-9 residential units represent approximately 95% of all residential properties in New York City. Between those 765,000 buildings, previous Adams administration bin rules for all 200,000 NYC businesses, and city agencies, houses of worship, and special use buildings, as of today, approximately 70% of NYC trash is required to be set out in a container. Just over one year ago, that percentage was zero.

And there is a plan in place for the remaining 30%. Starting in June 2025, stationary on-street containers known as Empire Bins will be placed in Manhattan Community District 9, West Harlem, for use by larger buildings. Unlike in cities around the world, Empire Bins will not be shared, but rather assigned to a specific building for use by that building. When these bins are in place, Manhattan Community District 9 will be the first fully-containerized district in NYC.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com

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