NYC has issued more than 100,000 violations for failure to adhere to new trash rules - SILive.com

NYC has issued more than 100,000 violations for failure to adhere to new trash rules - silive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York City has issued more than 100,000 violations for failure to adhere to new sanitation rules designed to keep the city clean and cut down on the number of rats roaming the streets.

The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued 120,364 total violations for failing to comply with new trash rules that have been phased in over the past year, including later set out times and required containerization of commercial garbage, according to a DSNY spokesperson.

The number of violations represents both summonses and written warnings, which were given during the first 30 days after each new rule took effect, allowing residents and businesses to familiarize themselves with the new policies before receiving a monetary fine.

“For too long, New Yorkers had been told that we had to put up with piles of smelly black trash bags on our sidewalks, day after day, night after night, sometimes sitting as long as 36 hours before being picked up. It was gross, and it did not have to be this way,” said DSNY spokesperson Joshua Goodman.

NEW SETOUT TIMES

On Apr. 1, 2023, New York City implemented later set out times for both residential and commercial trash, recycling and composting in an effort to reduce the amount of time it spent sitting out on the city’s sidewalks.

Previously, trash could be placed at the curb for collection beginning at 4 p.m. the day prior to your scheduled pickup — the earliest time of any major American city.

Under the new rules, residents must wait until 6 p.m. to put out their containerized garbage and until 8 p.m. to place bags directly on the curb.

Food-related and chain businesses, which are now required to place their garbage in bins with secure lids, must wait until one hour before closing to place their containerized garbage at the curb and until 8 p.m. for recycling.

All other businesses using bins with secure lids must also wait until one hour before closing to place their containerized trash at the curb or until 8 p.m. for garbage bags placed directly on the curb.

Since the later set out times were implemented on Apr. 1, DSNY has issued 88,340 total violations for putting trash out too early, 71,237 of which were issued to residents, while 17,103 were issued to businesses.

Brooklyn saw the most total violations issued of any borough with 24,313, as well as the most the residential violations with 20,353.

The second-most total violations were issued in Manhattan with 22,846, including the most commercial violations of any borough at 6,023.

Staten Island saw the fewest commercial, residential and total violations of any borough with 168, 4,382 and 4,550, respectively.

Here’s a look at how many violations were issued in each borough.

Brooklyn

Residential violations: 20,353

Commercial violations: 3,960

Total violations: 24,313

Manhattan

Residential violations: 16,823

Commercial violations: 6,023

Total violations: 22,846

Queens

Residential violations: 15,468

Commercial violations: 4,301

Total violations: 19,769

The Bronx

Residential violations: 14,211

Commercial violations: 2,651

Total violations: 16,862

Staten Island

Residential violations: 4,382

Commercial violations: 168

Total violations: 4,550

REQUIRED CONTAINERIZATION RULES

In addition to the new setout times, New York City has been phasing in required containerization of trash, starting with businesses and eventually expanding to cover residential properties.

First, the city required all food-related businesses — including restaurants, caterers, grocery stores, delis, and bodegas — to containerize their waste as of July 30, 2023.

The required containerization was expanded on Sept. 5, 2023 to cover all chain businesses with five or more locations in the city, regardless of what they sell.

The next phase, which will begin Mar. 1, will require all New York City businesses to place their trash in bins, regardless of what they sell or how many locations they operate out of.

The city will then turn its focus to residential trash, with plans to require containerization at all residential buildings with nine or fewer units starting fall 2024.

By 2026, all trash will need to be placed in official NYC Bins designed for mechanized pickup, with city residents required to purchase the bins themselves. Officials have said that the most common sized bins will cost no more $50 each.

Since the containerization rules were implemented for food-related businesses in late July 2023 and chain businesses in Sept. 2023, DSNY has issued 32,024 total violations to businesses for not using garbage bins.

Brooklyn saw, by far, the most violations of any borough with 10,967, roughly 34% of all violations citywide, while Staten Island saw the fewest with 227, less than 1% of the citywide total.

Here’s a look at how many violations were issued in each borough.

Brooklyn

Total violations: 10,967

Manhattan

Total violations: 7,479

Queens

Total violations: 6,751

The Bronx

Total violations: 6,600

Staten Island

Total violations: 227

REASON FOR NEW RULES

The new rules are being implemented as part of the administration’s “War on Rats,” an ongoing effort to reduce New York City’s rodent population by cutting off their most common food source — non-containerized garbage bags.

“We’ve declared that rats are public enemy number one — but we’re not stopping there; we’re also going after the black trash bags that litter our streets, aiding and abetting rodents,” Mayor Eric Adams said in September.

Once the new rules for residential containerization take effect this fall, officials estimate that 70% off all New York City trash, which totals roughly 44 million pounds per day, will be containerized.

City sanitation officials say the new rules are achieving their intended purpose. During 2023 after the news rules went into the city saw the largest year-over-year decrease in rat sightings reported to 311 since 2010.

“Less than one year ago, we stood in front of City Hall and declared war on the rats, war on the bags, and war on the idea that other cities could get their trash off the streets, but New York couldn’t,” DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in October. “We’re closer than ever to showing the doubters, the rat-sympathizers, and the trash-lovers just how wrong they were.”