NYC’s Trash Revolution For Residential Buildings, Including Apartments, Private Homes Using New Trucks To Automatically Dispose Of Trash In Bins That Are Impervious To Wildlife

The following questions were provided to the Department of Sanitation about the new trash bins that residents will need to purchase in the near future:

We wanted to know about the new trash bin rules for residential houses with 9 or fewer apartments.  Was this requirement (to use specialized trash bins with locking lids that can be picked up by an automated truck attachment)  a law that was passed, or is it a new rule? When will it go into effect? 

Please let me know what information you can provide, and what residents can expect.  When will the new trucks be purchased, or does your agency already have them? Is there a limit to the number of pails a homeowner can purchase? Please let me know. 

Additional questions have been submitted, and answers are expected by next week.  This article will be updated.  

These are the answers:

Thank you for your interest in the Trash Revolution!

Our goal here is to get every single one of the black trash bags off our sidewalks, everywhere in the City, after 50 years of letting them attract rats and leak smelly garbage juice all over the place. DSNY has been working to do this in phases for the last year — you may notice that all commercial trash is now in containers. This requirement for smaller residential buildings — via the city’s rule-making process — is the next phase in the Trash Revolution.

This fall (date to be announced), residents will be required to use a bin with a secure lid – not necessarily the Official NYC Bins, although the Official NYC Bins will be available for purchase before the rule goes into effect. The most common size will be available for less than $50, and there would be no limit to the number a homeowner can purchase.  (Similar bins frequently retail at $150 or more. This extremely low price-point was achieved in part through the innovative use of a concession agreement, whereby DSNY was able to keep the cost low by guaranteeing volume.)

So, residents without bins can buy an Official NYC Bin once they are available. And those who already have bins will be free to use them for the next two years, as the requirement to use the Official NYC Bin will go into effect in summer 2026.

How to NOT follow the trash laws in NYC. Image Credit – DSNY

Sanitation Workers will then have the option of using a tipper at the back of the truck to tip the trash into the truck’s hopper. This is an attachment on our current trucks. (If you had seen our announcement in February with automated side-loading trucks, those are new, and those will be used to service large, on-street containers for larger residential buildings, starting with a pilot program next year in Manhattan’s Community Board 9.)

You can find more information here. And we’re happy to answer any additional questions you may have!

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Banner Image: Trash bins that are acceptable by DSNY. Image Credit – DSNY