By Scott Etkin
Have you noticed the recent influx of trash bins across the neighborhood? This is New York City’s first major attempt to get trash bags off the sidewalks and streets and into containers where rats can’t rip them open to get at food scraps.
“Containerization,” the formal term for this effort, is a big word for a relatively simple concept. But implementing containerization in a city as large and densely populated as NYC is hardly simple.
Despite many complications – such as a lack of alleyways for storing bins, which many cities have – the city’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has made significant progress toward containerizing much of the city’s trash over the past year. Starting March 1, all commercial businesses have been required to containerize their trash. This month, as of November 12th, small residential buildings (one to nine units), city agencies, houses of worship, and nonprofit offices have also been required to containerize their trash. Taken together, this accounts for 70% of the city’s trash.
With plans to expand trash containerization to larger residential buildings in the works, it’s worth getting a better understanding of this program and what it means for the city. Below are answers to several key questions about the current state of trash containerization and how it might look in the future.
If people are now supposed to put their food scraps in compost bins in order to deter rats, why is trash containerization necessary?
While composting is now required for all residential buildings, the reality is some people are still putting food scraps in the trash. When the city began recycling, “It took about 20 years after the first metal, glass, and plastic separation rules to get to a 50% capture rate, which is where we are today,” said Joshua Goodman, deputy commissioner for public affairs and customer experience for DSNY, on a call with the Rag. “So we know that there will continue to be food scraps in the trash stream, even though that is against the law.”
And though the main point of trash containerization is combating rats, Goodman noted there are other benefits. “This is also about the look and feel and smell of our city streets,” he said. “Trash bags on our streets make us a laughing stock. They are not welcoming. They hurt business. They hurt quality of life.”
Does trash containerization change what I need to do as a building resident?
No. Unlike composting, which requires building tenants to put their food scraps into a separate compost bin, containerization only changes how trash is set out on the street for collection. This is usually the responsibility of the building manager, staff, or super.
I live in a small residential building. What’s the consequence if my building doesn’t comply?
Containerization for residential buildings with fewer than 10 units is now mandatory, but summonses for noncompliance will not be issued until January 2, 2025.
After that date, the fine for leaving trash bags on the street rather than in a bin (55 gallons or less with a secure lid) is $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense, and $200 for a third offense and each thereafter. The same fines apply to businesses in the city.
.Once the warning period ends in early 2025, New Yorkers will be able to report noncompliance to 3-1-1. The same goes for reporting noncompliance of containerization requirements for commercial and city agency/special use.
Is it considered noncompliance if the trash is piled so high in the bin that the lid doesn’t close?
Yes, the lid has to be able to close.
What is an “Official NYC Bin” and when will my building have to start using one if I live in a small residential building?
Right now, small residential buildings can use any bin as long as it holds 55 gallons or less and has a secure lid. Starting June 1, 2026, buildings will be required to use an NYC Bin, which has wheels, and is available for purchase online or at all of NYC’s Home Depot locations. Priced around $50, the NYC Bins are the cheapest ones of its quality, according to the DSNY website. The standardized bin will “facilitate faster, safer, cleaner mechanized collection with rear-loading ‘tipper’ garbage trucks.” Nearly 400,000 Bins have been purchased since orders began in July.
Bins being used by small residential buildings and businesses can sometimes block the sidewalk. Where should they be stored?
DSNY doesn’t mandate exactly how the bins should be stored. Many buildings have space in their basement or courtyard. If not, the DSNY rules are to store the bin within three feet of the property lot. “We know that every building in the city is different, and so a lot of flexibility about that was written into the rules purposefully,” said Goodman.
What’s the plan for containerizing trash from larger residential buildings?
The plan for larger buildings is in two parts: medium-sized residential buildings (10-30 units) will have the choice to use wheeled bins or a large, stationary bin (known as an “Empire Bin”) that will be installed by DSNY in the street (not the sidewalk) outside the building. Large residential buildings (more than 31 units) will be required to use an Empire Bin.
But this is not happening at a large scale in the near-term. DSNY will first conduct a test in Manhattan District 9, which runs from West 110th Street to West 155th Street. Here are the key dates for this new pilot, according to draft rules announced by DSNY:
- In mid-December, residential buildings in District 9 with 10 to 30 units will be able to opt-in to using an Empire Bin. The deadline to complete this request is February 1, 2025.
- In May 2025, DSNY plans to begin installing Empire Bins in District 9 in front of buildings with 10 to 30 units that opted in, as well as buildings with 31 or more units.
- By June 2025, all buildings in District 9 will be expected to use containers for their trash – either wheeled bins or Empire Bins.
- In the spring of 2025, installation of Empire Bins will begin in District 9 for the first full-district containerization pilot, serviced by new automated side-loading trucks.
- Starting in June 2025, the stationary on-street containers known as Empire Bins will be placed in Manhattan Community District 9, West Harlem, for use by larger buildings.
Following the pilot, DSNY will conduct an environmental review and have additional conversations about expanding containerization to larger buildings.
What will an Empire Bin look like and how many parking spaces will they take away?
The final design for Empire Bins hasn’t been set yet, but they will probably look similar to the bins that were demoed in February when DSNY showcased its new side-loading trucks.
Goodman said that based on the results of a previous pilot, DSNY expects Empire Bins to take up about 3% of parking spaces. Two Empire Bins is about the size of one parking space, he said. He added that DSNY conducted volumetric analysis to calculate how much space is needed to store trash. “We want to use that public space effectively, not have a bin taking up public space and then be sitting empty.”
How can residents or building management/staff learn more about trash containerization?
DSNY regularly hosts webinars about containerization. More information and resources can be found at nyc.gov/usebins.
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Please put garbage in sealed trash cans.
With the empire bins, what about street cleaning. Are we saying that a “small dumpster“ or a series of theses “empire bins” will be lining many blocks and that they will stay in place forever?
Not just the empire bins, the same is true for the small containers that someone (not us) decided should forever line our sidewalks. Where I grew up that was called an alley.
I have a 55 gallon NYC bin for use in my single family home. It is quite heavy empty and very heavy when full especially lugging it up a few stairs to street level. Also the rubber lock seems quite fragile and I don’t think it is going to last. The bin that I have been using for at least a decade is lighter, and the lid still locks when closed.
The better policy response would have been to simply move garbage collection to the alternate side parking window. Supers set garbage out the morning of, garbage trucks come with the street sweepers and all is well. The workers driving the sweepers and the workers driving the truck are not the same anyway, they are separate assignments. But the city does not want to do that as they are trying to milk as much money from the rat problem that picked up in 2020 as possible while waging a culture war against private car ownership.
It would be really wonderful if the sanitation Dept would pay this much attention to the number of trash cans there are on each block. We used to have one can one each of the 4 corners on West End Avenue. Now, if we are lucky there are two and they are always spilling over all over the side walk. When I called to find out why cans were taken away I was told it was because people were putting private trash in these trash bind. Why are they punishing an entire neighborhood because of the actions of one or two people.
Please find another solution besides Empire Bins that sit in the street 24/7. The garbage will be picked thru by Street people, the bins will eventually have graffiti scrawled all over them, and the stench from sitting outside all day and night will be revolting. Please try the rolling bins as an alternative. They will be outside for no more than 12 hours and then back inside. Our streets will be spared the ugliness and odor of garbage in front of where we live 24/7.
Why do residents single family homes need bigger containers. Seniors can’t afford the price
The decline in value of street-level and 1st-floor apartments from these permanent garbage fixtures is a tax on homeowners.
Related article:
https://w42st.com/post/they-ruined-our-lives-building-supers-rally-against-nycs-trash-policies-in-rat-war-fallout/
Many pre-war buildings have outside space/alleyways in the back where trash is stored until it is put on the street the morning of pickup.
Of course NYC has allowed huge luxury buildings to go up with zero requirement for trash storage.
“FiDi” is especially horrible – residential high rises have gone up on narrow streets and as a result when the trash is put on the sidewalk, there is no place to walk.
Plus E-commerce has created more trash
I have purchased recycled trash containers that cost a lot more money with a secured lid and had the bar for the same containers in similarity to the ones the nyc has decided to use. Mine at a high cost compared are far more better! And are made from recycled plastic!
I purchased 4 of these and they are far more adequate than the city offered pails 🪣 that are inferior in comparison! These have been in use for 4 years and are still like new!
What is the owner of a small 6 family residence supposed to do if they have tenants that refused to comply with the law and refuse to seperate recyclable or continue to throw bags of trash near the bins.The owner would then receive a summons. Why should the owner be penalized for tenants who don’t give a damn and are recalcitrant?
How many of these dumpsters will be required to service a 100-apartment building?
Would a building have 6 (3 parking spaces), or 8 (4 parking spaces) or 10 (5 parking spaces) dumpsters PERMANENTLY located in front? This will be a PERMANENT eyesore and blight on the neighborhoods.
These dumpsters will NOT deter a rat infestation, they will merely concentrate vermin in the vicinity of the dumpsters.
Also, have any of the single-celled geniuses at DOS considered the security risk that these DUMPSTERS pose for explosive devices from terrorists?
They are explosions waiting to happen.
Stop them NOW.
My comment is this . . The city is mandating this, which to me means that each household should receive from the city one container for trash and one for recycling to enforce this new mandate free of charge and every container after that must be ordered and paid for by the home owner or tenants. I believe that is fair.
Echoing Joey: I wish the city would also offer bins the size of composting bins for smaller buildings. They take up less space indoors and on the sidewalk. If they don’t, I am planning to order more composting bins and spray paint them the appropriate colors.