Public Comment Period Open for New Proposed Rules on Trash Collection

On October 17, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced the opening of the public comment period for new proposed rules, which would adjust the time of day residential buildings and commercial establishments could place trash and recycling on curbs. Currently, trash and recycling may be placed on the curb after 4:00 PM the night before collection.

Under the new rules, residential buildings would have three options for placing items for the collection:

•  Place trash out after 6:00 PM in a secure container,
•  Place trash out after 8:00 PM if putting bags directly on the curb, or
•  If a building has nine or more residential units, the property owner may opt in to a 4:00 – 7:00 AM set-out window instead. The opt-in period will run for the month of January each year, allowing DSNY to design quick and efficient routes that take effect on April 1.

These rules would apply to recycling and curbside composting as well.

Under this announcement, there are also new clarified rules for commercial establishments, although they receive service from private waste haulers, not DSNY. Businesses may:

•  Place trash out after 8:00 PM if putting bags directly on the curb or
•  Place trash out one hour before closing in a secure container

The new rules would go into effect on April 1, 2023.

We applaud this move since we are working on removing bags in our district. For more on those efforts, please see our story on the Clean Curbs Pilot Program. 

The proposed rules are subject to public comment under the City Administrative Procedure Act. The comment period will be open until November 18, with a public hearing on the proposed rules also on Thursday, November 18, at 9:30 AM. After considering these public comments, DSNY will publish its final rules later this year. You can submit public comments by email, mail, or on the city's website.   

Photo Credit: New York City Department of Sanitation