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Trash City No More: 70 Percent of NYC Trash Now Covered by Bin Rules as First Residential Container Requirement in 50 Years Takes Effect

November 12, 2024

Trash Bin Requirement for Buildings with One to Nine Residential Units Takes Effect Today; Rule Also Covers City Agencies, Houses of Worship, and Non-profit Offices

NYC Bin — Cheapest Bin of its Quality — Available for Purchase Online and, for the first time, at all NYC Home Depot Locations

Warning Period in Effect Until January 2, 2025; Summonses to Begin Thereafter

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.

The new official NYC Bin is equipped with wheels and a secure latching lid, and is the cheapest bin of its quality available, with prices around $50. That bin is available at www.bins.nyc, and DSNY can now announce that a retail option exists as well. For the first time, New Yorkers can purchase the NYC Bin for the exact same low price at all 22 NYC Home Depot locations, either in store or by ordering online for in-store pickup. All locations will continue to restock as bins are purchased.

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.

Many lower-density residential buildings and special-use buildings already use bins to set out their trash. As such, the rule provides a period of more than 18 months during which they may continue to use bins they already have, provided those bins are 55 gallons or less and have a latching lid to keep rats out. Effective June 1, 2026, buildings covered by this requirement must use the official NYC Bin to facilitate faster, safer, cleaner mechanized collection with rear-loading "tipper" garbage trucks. While the requirements of this new rule only cover trash and compostable material, matching green (paper) and blue (metal, glass, plastic, cartons) NYC Bins are also available for purchase for any property owner or manager who prefers a matched set. 

DSNY has engaged in substantial outreach around these new rules, including through mailers to every covered resident, door to door canvassing, community and ethnic media outreach, and work with community boards and civic associations.

The "Trash Revolution" Thus Far

The start of this rule mandating lower-density residential containerization is the latest step in the rapid rethinking of the relationship between 8.3 million New Yorkers and 14 billion annual pounds of trash — an undertaking collectively known as the "Trash Revolution" — that has led to record-breaking reductions in rat sightings.

  1. In October 2022, the Adams administration kicked off the Trash Revolution by changing set-out times for both residential and commercial waste from 4:00 PM — one of the earliest set-out times in the country — to 8:00 PM in April 2023, while also allowing earlier set-out if the material is in a container.
  2. Later that month, DSNY published its "Future of Trash" report, the first meaningful attempt to study containerization models in New York City, and the playbook to get it done.
  3. Last August, containerization requirements went into effect for all food-related businesses in New York City. These businesses — restaurants, delis, bodegas, bars, grocery stores, caterers, etc. — produce an outsized amount of the type of trash that attracts rats.
  4. That same month, installation of the initial 10-block, 14-school Manhattan Community Board 9 pilot containers began.
  5. Last September, commercial containerization requirements extended to chain businesses of any type with five or more locations in New York City. These chain businesses tend to produce a large total volume of trash.
  6. This past February, Mayor Adams and Commissioner Tisch unveiled a new, automated, side-loading garbage truck and a new data-driven containerization strategy, affirming a commitment from Mayor Adams’ 2024 State of the City address to set New York City on the course to store all trash put out for pickup in containers.
  7. On March 1, 2024, container requirements went into effect for all businesses — of every type — in New York City to get their trash off the streets and into a secure bin.
  8. Today, November 12, 2024, container requirements go into effect for low-density residential buildings — those with one to nine units – as well as for city agency buildings, houses of worship, and special use buildings. Now, approximately 70 percent of all trash in the city will be covered by container requirements. New Yorkers can purchase the official NYC Bin online, and use of that specific low-cost bin will become required in June 2026.
  9. In the spring of 2025, installation of stationary on-street containers known as Empire Bins will begin in Manhattan Community Board 9 for the first full-district containerization pilot, serviced by new automated side-loading trucks.