NYC suspends most composting fines just weeks after enforcement began
Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr
Just a few weeks after fines began for buildings failing to comply with the composting program, New York City is temporarily changing the rules. Curbside composting became mandatory in October, but enforcement didn’t begin until April 1. Now, as Hell Gate reported, the city will only fine buildings with more than 30 units that get more than four warnings from the Department of Sanitation (DSNY), letting a majority of buildings off the hook through the end of the year.
Since last fall, all residents have been required to separate food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard waste from trash. Buildings with four or more units must provide storage areas and labeled bins for yard and food waste collection by sanitation workers.
As part of the original program, fines were to begin at $25 for buildings with eight or fewer units and $100 for larger buildings, increasing with subsequent offenses.
Within two weeks before the fines were halted, the city had issued over 3,600 tickets.
According to Hell Gate, Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro called for a pause in fines, claiming New Yorkers were not well informed about the program, which has rolled out in phases since 2023.
In a statement to The City, mayoral spokesperson Liz Garcia said the city plans to distribute more education materials and hold community events about composting.
“We will conduct additional outreach and education on composting before issuing fines to the most persistent offenders who repeatedly refuse to compost,” Garcia said.
“Through the end of the year, we will be distributing additional education materials and holding more community events about how to sort out waste.”
The suspension of fines for most buildings comes as the city touts the success of the program. During the second week of the mandate, 3.8 million pounds of compost were collected, a record for the city, as reported by the New York Post.
In response to “overwhelming demand and record amounts of compostable material collected,” DSNY announced the opening of a new compost distribution site in Astoria, making it easier for residents to pick up the “black gold” for their gardens. DSNY already operates give-back sites in Greenpoint and Fresh Kills, in addition to two dozen community pop-up events, and gives free compost and mulch to city agencies and nonprofits.
“After 12 years of treating composting like a niche program, it took just two weeks of regular operations to hit a record amount of food waste and yard scraps kept out of landfills,” Acting DSNY Commissioner Javier Lojan told The Post. “These staggering numbers show that creating a normal, easy-to-use, and enforceable composting program works.”
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