What you should know
- In a few days, on Saturday, April 1, New York’s new late withdrawal rule will go into effect. With this, the Department of Sanitation seeks to reduce the time that trash, recycling, and compost sits on the sidewalk.
- However, please note that there will be a one-month grace period: businesses and residents will receive written warnings until May 1, 2023. The Department will follow up on written warnings and the recipients of warnings will be among the first sites inspected for compliance. in May.
- The time at which you can drop off your garbage and recycling will change on April 1: no earlier than 8:00 p.m. if you put the bags at the curb, or 6:00 p.m. if you use a container with a lid.
There are also new rules for businesses.
NEW YORK — In a few days, on Saturday, April 1, New York City’s new late withdrawal rule will go into effect. With this, the Department of Sanitation seeks to reduce the time that trash, recycling, and compost sits on the sidewalk.
However, please note that there will be a one-month grace period: businesses and residents will receive written warnings until May 1, 2023. The Department will follow up on written warnings and the recipients of warnings will be among the first sites inspected for compliance. in May.
The plan was announced by Mayor Eric Adams in October 2022 as a move to address one of the city’s biggest problems: rat complaints in all five boroughs.
HOW THE NEW RULE WORKS
With that, starting Saturday, April 1, New Yorkers should follow the following schedule for taking out the trash:
Residents:
Residential buildings of any size (single-family and multi-family) have two options:
- Take garbage out after 6:00 p.m. in a 55-gallon or smaller container with a secure lid, or
- Take out the trash after 8:00 p.m., if you put the bags directly at the curb.
To ensure collection, all waste must be taken out before midnight.
Remember that currently New Yorkers can take out the trash from 4:00 p.m. for pickup the next morning, now from Saturday, April 1, they must follow the new rule.
Business
Businesses that place waste curbside* for collection have two options:
- If using a container with a secure lid, place the bin at the curb 1 hour before closing time, or
- If you deposit the bags directly at the curb, please take out the bins after 8:00 p.m.
This does not apply to companies that have waste collected from a loading dock.
Remember that bins must be removed from the curb when your business reopens.
More information here.
WHY THE CHANGE
At the press conference announcing the new plan, Adams denounced the current policy as outdated, saying it had been in place since 1969. He stressed that the change will help tackle the rat problem.
“It doesn’t make sense that these trash bags stay on the streets for so long. They have become ‘open season’ for rodents to enter these bags and create a real health problem in our city,” the mayor said. “Rat control is something we are focused on as we continue to make this city a livable city. Rats have no place in this city and we will use whatever methods necessary to (eliminate them ) so they don’t harm families and our quality of life.”
Watch Mayor Adams’ full announcement in the player below.
According to data released by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), city inspectors documented twice as much rodent activity in 2022 as they did in 2021.
In total, city health inspectors documented about 60,000 cases of rodent activity in the five boroughs last year. That compares to around 30,000 rodent citations in 2021. The city council blamed the doubling in rat sightings in part on health inspectors visiting more properties last year than the year before. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Before the pandemic, in 2018, health inspectors recorded about 31,000 rodent sightings during 255,000 property visits. Last year, inspectors made about 5,000 fewer visits to the property, but still documented 93% more rodent activity than five years earlier.
The Department of Sanitation has floated the idea of changing the times trash hits sidewalks at night in July, with the idea that trash shouldn’t be left out for long periods of time to prevent rodents from have plenty of time to smell them. and hunt them.