NYC Department Of Sanitation

NYC announces 6 more districts to fully containerize trash by end of 2027

Photo Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

April 17, 2026

NYC announces 6 more districts to fully containerize trash by end of 2027

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is expanding its trash containerization program, selecting additional districts in all five boroughs to fully adopt containerized trash collection by the end of next year. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday announced that the city’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will deliver at least one fully containerized community district in every borough by the end of 2027, with a target of citywide containerization by 2031. The districts will receive the city’s new Empire Bins, which will be collected by automated side-loading garbage trucks.
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Policy

Trucks of Art returns: DSNY invites artists to decorate NYC garbage trucks

Images courtesy of DSNY

January 14, 2026

Trucks of Art returns: DSNY invites artists to decorate NYC garbage trucks

By Aaron Ginsburg

Back for the first time since 2022, New York City's Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is inviting artists to paint vibrant murals on its garbage trucks. As part of the "Trucks of Art" zero-waste initiative, the agency adorns the sides of its 46,000-pound garbage trucks with traveling works of art using leftover household paints that would otherwise end up in landfills. Applications are being accepted until February 8 at 11:59 p.m., with the trucks expected to be painted in April.
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Fort Greene and Clinton Hill will be next NYC neighborhoods to fully containerize trash

Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

September 16, 2025

Fort Greene and Clinton Hill will be next NYC neighborhoods to fully containerize trash

By Aaron Ginsburg

Fort Greene and Clinton Hill are following West Harlem’s lead and will become the next neighborhoods in New York City to fully containerize trash. Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Javier Lojan on Tuesday announced that schools in Brooklyn Community District 2 will receive on-street trash containers, known as Empire Bins, this fall, with all high-density residential buildings in the area scheduled to follow next year. Building on the success of West Harlem’s program, all buildings in the district must place trash in containers, with those with 31 or more units required to use Empire Bins.
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Policy

West Harlem becomes first neighborhood in North America to fully containerize trash

Northwest corner of West 152nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Photo Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

June 2, 2025

West Harlem becomes first neighborhood in North America to fully containerize trash

By Aaron Ginsburg

Residents of West Harlem can expect cleaner sidewalks and fewer rats as it officially becomes the first neighborhood in New York City (and North America) to containerize 100 percent of its trash. On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Commissioner Javier Lojan announced the first day of full service of the European-style on-street trash containers, dubbed Empire Bins, in Manhattan Community Board 9, which includes Morningside Heights, Manhattanville, and Hamilton Heights. As part of the pilot program, all residential buildings in the district are required to put trash in containers; buildings with 31 or more units will be required to use the Empire Bins.
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Policy

NYC suspends most composting fines just weeks after enforcement began

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

April 21, 2025

NYC suspends most composting fines just weeks after enforcement began

By Devin Gannon

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.
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Policy

Mulchfest is here: How to recycle your Christmas tree in NYC

Credit: Jim Griffin on Flickr

January 2, 2025

Mulchfest is here: How to recycle your Christmas tree in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

The holidays are officially over, and it's time to face the facts: that giant Christmas tree in your living room has got to go. Thankfully, the city's Parks and Sanitation Departments make it easy with Mulchfest, a sustainable way to recycle your tree. Through January 12, New Yorkers can drop off their trees at 75 sites across the five boroughs to be composted. Bring your tree to one of 35 chipping sites on the weekend of January 11 and take home a "tree-mento"—a bag of mulch for your backyard or a street tree’s winter bed.
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NYC has seized 73,000+ ‘ghost cars’ and illegal vehicles during Adams administration

Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

December 12, 2024

NYC has seized 73,000+ ‘ghost cars’ and illegal vehicles during Adams administration

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is cracking down on cars with illegal plates and other untraceable vehicles. Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced that a new task force made up of the city's police department (NYPD) and Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has removed over 7,500 "ghost cars"—vehicles with forged or altered license plates that evade traffic cameras and toll readers—and 27,000 unregistered motorized vehicles in just 12 weeks. Since the start of the Adams administration, more than 73,000 ghost cars and illegal motorized vehicles have been seized.
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NYC’s curbside compost program expands to all five boroughs

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

October 7, 2024

NYC’s curbside compost program expands to all five boroughs

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's compost program is now underway in all five boroughs. On Sunday, curbside compost collection began in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, requiring buildings with four or more units to provide storage areas and labeled bins for yard and food waste collection by Department of Sanitation workers. The program’s final expansion follows its success in Queens and Brooklyn and aims to prevent rat infestations while promoting sustainability.
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Policy

NYC rolls out official trash bin, expands containerization to most residential buildings

Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

July 9, 2024

NYC rolls out official trash bin, expands containerization to most residential buildings

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's next step in its "trash revolution" is here: Wheelie bins. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday rolled out the city's first-ever official trash bin, which has wheels and a rat-proof lid, and announced a new containerization mandate for certain buildings. Starting November 12, the city's Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will require buildings with one to nine residential units to put trash in a bin. When the new trash rule goes into effect, the city will have containerized 70 percent of the city's 14 billion pounds of annual trash since 2022, reducing the mounds of trash bags piled on the sidewalks and streets.
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Policy

NYC reveals automated, side-loading garbage truck

Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

February 5, 2024

NYC reveals automated, side-loading garbage truck

By Aaron Ginsburg

A revolutionary garbage truck is hitting New York City streets, four years ahead of schedule. Mayor Eric Adams last week revealed a new automated side-loading garbage truck that will allow Department of Sanitation workers to easily collect trash from large containerized bins at high-density residential buildings. With the use of the new trucks and a data-driven containerization model, Manhattan Community Board 9 will be the first district to have 100 percent of its garbage containerized next year.
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Policy

Popular Articles

Say ‘fir-well’ to your Christmas tree: Mulchfest is back

Mulchfest 2021. Photo © 6sqft

December 29, 2023

Say ‘fir-well’ to your Christmas tree: Mulchfest is back

By Aaron Ginsburg

Sick of your Christmas tree taking up space in your living room? There is an easy (and sustainable) way to ditch it. Starting December 26 and running through January 7, the city's annual Mulchfest offers New Yorkers 72 sites across the five boroughs to drop off Christmas trees to be composted. Those who bring their trees to one of 32 chipping sites on the weekend of January 6 will even get to take a bag of mulch home.
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Events & Things To Do

Nearly all New York City residential buildings will have to containerize trash

Image courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

October 11, 2023

Nearly all New York City residential buildings will have to containerize trash

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's ambitious plan to prevent garbage from piling up on streets and sidewalks has a new target: residential properties. Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday announced all buildings with nine or fewer apartments will be required to place their garbage in a secure container starting in 2024. This covers 765,000 buildings in the city, or 95 percent of all residential properties across the five boroughs.
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Policy

NYC’s curbside compost program expands to Brooklyn

Photo credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

October 3, 2023

NYC’s curbside compost program expands to Brooklyn

By Aaron Ginsburg

Brooklynites, it's time to get your compost on! On Monday, curbside compost collection began in New York City's most populous borough. Brooklyn is the second borough to join the city's universal composting program after Queens, which rolled out a permanent, year-round program in March after a successful pilot last year. Between Queens and Brooklyn, the program will serve nearly 5 million residents, making it the nation's largest composting program.
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Policy

All NYC businesses required to containerize trash

Photo courtesy of m01229 on Flickr

September 19, 2023

All NYC businesses required to containerize trash

By Devin Gannon

Roughly 20 million pounds of trash will be tucked away in containers instead of in trash bags piled up on New York City sidewalks next year. As part of the latest effort to curb the city's rat problem, all businesses will be required to put garbage in lidded containers beginning next March, Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday. About 25 percent of the city's businesses, including restaurants and grocery stores as well as chain businesses, are currently mandated to containerize trash; when the newest proposed rule takes effect, the requirement will apply to 100 percent of businesses.
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Policy

NYC unveils new trash can that will replace ‘iconic’ green mesh bins

Photos courtesy of the NYC Department of Sanitation

September 14, 2023

NYC unveils new trash can that will replace ‘iconic’ green mesh bins

By Aaron Ginsburg

Say goodbye to New York City's old green wire mesh trash cans and say hello to a new, shiny litter bin ready for a rat-free future. The city's Department of Sanitation this week started replacing the iconic green bins with modernized cans made up of three parts: a concrete base to prevent it from falling over, a hinged metal lid, and a removable, lightweight plastic basket for sanitation workers to empty, according to the New York Times. The new bins fix a fundamental flaw in the dated wire mesh design: holes for rats to get inside.
READ MORE ABOUT NYC'S NEW TRASH BINS

Policy

NYC’s containerized trash program would eliminate 150,000 parking spaces

Image courtesy of m01229 on Flickr

May 4, 2023

NYC’s containerized trash program would eliminate 150,000 parking spaces

By Aaron Ginsburg

Containerization, storage of trash in sealed bins rather than in plastic bags, is possible on 89 percent of New York City's streets with residential properties. A new analysis released by the city's Department of Sanitation this week found installing collection receptacles across the city is actually feasible, but would require the elimination of roughly 150,000 parking spaces, or 10 percent of all curb space on blocks with residential buildings. As first reported by the New York Times, the city will launch a pilot program in West Harlem this fall that will include the installation of trash containers in parking spots on up to 10 blocks and at more than a dozen schools.
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City designates these NYC neighborhoods as ‘rat mitigation zones’

Photo by Ludovic Bertron on Flickr

April 5, 2023

City designates these NYC neighborhoods as ‘rat mitigation zones’

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City this week named eight rat-prone neighborhoods as part of Mayor Eric Adams' quest to control the rodent population. According to a notice posted by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Monday, the "rat mitigation zones," which are areas with "high levels of rat activity," include Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, and Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, Grand Concourse in the Bronx, and Chinatown, the East Village, the Lower East Side, and Harlem in Manhattan. As Crain's reported, these identified zones will be the focus of a multiagency effort to address the rats and the conditions that cause them, according to the city.
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Adams proposes NYC’s first composting mandate

Image courtesy of the Department of Sanitation

March 27, 2023

Adams proposes NYC’s first composting mandate

By Aaron Ginsburg

For the first time ever, New York City residents will be required to separate their organic waste from their other garbage or face fines. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday proposed NYC's first composting mandate, a new policy that will require New Yorkers with yards to separate yard waste, which are biodegradable materials like leaves, flowers, twigs, and grass clippings, into a separate bin for pickup by the NYC Department of Sanitation. Residents who fail to do so will have to pay fines similar to the penalties for failing to recycle properly.
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NYC’s curbside composting program coming to all five boroughs

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 26, 2023

NYC’s curbside composting program coming to all five boroughs

By Aaron Ginsburg

Following the notable success of the program in Queens, curbside composting will soon expand to all of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Thursday during his State of the City address. The program will launch in Brooklyn this October, followed by the Bronx and Staten Island in March 2024 and Manhattan in October 2024. According to the mayor, the program will be the nation's largest curbside composting program.
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New compost program in Queens collected over 12.7 million pounds of waste in just three months

Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 6, 2023

New compost program in Queens collected over 12.7 million pounds of waste in just three months

By Aaron Ginsburg

In just three months, the new Queens compost program collected more than 12.7 million pounds of organic waste, according to data recently released by the city's sanitation department. The program, which launched last October, enrolled every residential building in the borough in a weekly curbside composting collection. According to the department, Queens districts significantly outperformed other communities that also participate in compost collection. The data shows that New Yorkers are eager to dispose of their food and yard waste in a sustainable manner.
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Policy

Mulchfest is back: Here’s how to recycle your Christmas tree in NYC

Photo credit: NYC Parks / Daniel Avila

January 3, 2023

Mulchfest is back: Here’s how to recycle your Christmas tree in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

With the holidays behind us, there's no better way to officially wrap up the season than sustainably disposing of your Christmas tree. The Parks Department's annual Mulchfest started on December 26 and will run through January 8, with 73 drop-off sites across the five boroughs for New Yorkers to bid "fir-well" to the holidays. On January 7 and 8 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., residents can bring their trees to one of the city's 35 chipping sites, watch them be chipped, and take a bag of mulch home.
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NYC to fight ‘plague of rats’ by pushing back trash pick-up to 8 p.m.

Photo by Ryan Vaarsi on Flickr

October 18, 2022

NYC to fight ‘plague of rats’ by pushing back trash pick-up to 8 p.m.

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City wants to adjust the time of day trash can be put out as a way to curb rat infestations and improve overall cleanliness. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced a proposal to push back the window New Yorkers can put out their trash for collection from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The city says this policy change will make the streets cleaner, ease traffic and pedestrian flow, and reduce the number of rats drawn to trash. The proposed rules are open to a public comment period through November 10, with final rules set to take effect on April 1, 2023.
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NYC is looking for volunteer artists to paint its garbage trucks

Image courtesy of James O’Connor/DSNY on Flickr

August 31, 2022

NYC is looking for volunteer artists to paint its garbage trucks

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is looking for volunteer artists to paint murals on their garbage collection vehicles as part of "Trucks of Art," the department's new zero-waste challenge. Artwork that encourages New Yorkers to use litter baskets or that honors DSNY workers will have a higher chance of being selected. The department is accepting applications until September 18, and the trucks are expected to hit the road by October.
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NYC to provide every home in Queens with weekly curbside composting

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

August 9, 2022

NYC to provide every home in Queens with weekly curbside composting

By Aaron Ginsburg

After previous failed attempts at an effective compost program in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced a new "no frills" system aimed at making it easy and less costly for New Yorkers to dispose of food and yard waste. Under the new program, the city's Department of Sanitation will collect compost and organic waste from every residential building in Queens starting on October 3. New Yorkers can put any food waste, yard waste, and food-soiled paper in a Sanitation compost bin to be picked up weekly. According to the mayor, the program, which will be available to 2.2 million New Yorkers, is the largest curbside composting program in the country.
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Policy

NYC finally launches containerized trash bin pilot

Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

April 21, 2022

NYC finally launches containerized trash bin pilot

By Aaron Ginsburg

Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday unveiled a new containerized waste bin that the city will eventually deploy across all five boroughs in hopes of thwarting rats, making more room on the sidewalks, and improving the overall quality of life for residents. The new bins are part of the city's Clean Curbs Pilot program, which was announced two years ago. The first bins were installed in Times Square on Wednesday.
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