By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Monday symbolically set Gracie Mansion’s trash and recycling out at the curb. This waste was the first to be set out in the first-ever official NYC Bin, now available at bins.nyc/?utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery.
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 below $50 for the most common size.
Additionally, Adams on Monday announced that DSNY has put forth a proposed rule requiring that all buildings with one to nine residential units and all special-use buildings that receive DSNY collection (e.g. city agency buildings, houses of worship, and professional offices located within residential buildings) put their trash in containers, effective Nov. 12, 2024.
“Today, we are tossing even more black bags into the dustbin of history and taking the next step forward in our ‘Trash Revolution,’” Adams said.
The new official NYC Bin is the cheapest bin of its quality available; similarly durable bins with wheels and a secure, latching lid are sold in retail stores for almost three times the price, Adams noted. These savings were achieved through an innovative contracting mechanism in which one vendor is held to a low price in exchange for exclusivity.
Many lower-density residential buildings and special-use buildings already use bins to set out their trash, and 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, those buildings will be required to use the official NYC Bin to facilitate faster, safer, cleaner mechanized collection with rear-loading “tipper” garbage trucks. Any property owner or manager covered by the rule who does not currently have a bin is encouraged to purchase the official NYC Bin, as this bin is far cheaper than anything of its quality sold in retail stores. 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. Bins should be ordered by Oct. 1 to guarantee delivery before the new containerization requirement goes into effect on Nov. 12.
Implementation of the rule will include a warning period extending through the end of 2024, with issuance of fines to commence on Jan. 2, 2025. 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. DSNY will engage in substantial outreach this summer around these new rules, including through mailers, door to door canvassing, community and ethnic media outreach, and work with community boards and civic associations.
