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a. [Reserved.]
b. The commissioner shall provide for the source separation, collection and composting of yard waste, unless the generator otherwise provides for recycling or storage for composting or mulching. In addition, the commissioner shall provide for the collection and composting of yard waste generated and source separated at residential properties owned or operated by the New York city housing authority. There shall be operated by or on behalf of the department one or more yard waste composting facilities through which the department shall compost yard waste collected by or delivered to the department pursuant to this section. In order to comply with this provision, the department may utilize the services of privately-owned or operated facilities. The department shall also work in consultation with the composting facility siting task force established by the two thousand and six solid waste management plan to identify additional locations to site yard waste composting facilities with the goal of establishing at least one such composting facility in each borough where the department conducts yard waste composting collection.
c. Any city agency, or person under contract with a city agency, that generates a substantial amount of yard waste shall, in coordination with the department, provide for the source separation, collection and composting of such yard waste. Unless otherwise provided by law, the department shall accept for composting any city agency yard waste source separated for department collection pursuant to this subdivision.
d. No landfill, waste transfer station, intermodal facility, incinerator or resource recovery facility owned, operated or used by the department shall accept truckloads of department-managed waste primarily composed of yard waste for final disposal, except that composted yard waste may be used as part of the final vegetative cover for a department landfill.
e. All city agencies responsible for the maintenance of public lands shall to the maximum extent practicable and feasible give preference to the use of compost materials derived from the city's yard waste in all land maintenance activities.
f. Generators of yard waste, except those identified in subdivision g of this section, shall separate, tie, bundle, or place into bags or receptacles, in accordance with rules promulgated by the commissioner, any yard waste set out for collection by the department pursuant to subdivision b of this section. The commissioner shall notify all residents in districts that receive yard waste collection by the department of such pre-collection procedures, and undertake any other action necessary to effectuate the purposes of this subdivision.
g. No person engaged in a business that generates yard waste shall leave such yard waste for collection by the department, or disperse such yard waste in or about the curb or street. Any person engaged in a business that generates yard waste shall be required to collect and dispose of such yard waste at a permitted composting facility; provided, however, that if the department, by written order of the commissioner, determines that there is insufficient capacity at permitted composting facilities within the city of New York or within ten miles of the borough in which any such person generates yard waste, then such yard waste may be disposed of at any appropriately permitted solid waste management facility.
h. Each permitted composting facility within the city, including those operated by city agencies, shall annually report to the commissioner the amount of yard waste and any other organic waste collected and disposed of by weight at such composting facility. All such reports shall be submitted prior to February first of each calendar year and shall contain the amount collected and disposed of for the previous calendar year. The department shall consolidate the information contained in all reports prepared pursuant to this subdivision and include such information as part of the department's annual zero waste report required pursuant to subdivision b of section 16-316.5.
i. No person residing in a district where the department provides residential yard waste composting collection pursuant to subdivision b of this section shall dispose of grass clippings as regular waste for collection by the department during the period of time when the department conducts such composting collection. The department shall conduct outreach and education to inform residents within such districts of the dates when it will conduct yard waste composting collection. No person residing in a district where the department provides residential yard waste composting collection shall be held liable for a violation of this subdivision during the first year the department provides such residential yard waste composting collection.
(Am. L.L. 2023/085, 7/9/2023, eff. 7/9/2023; Am. L.L. 2023/087, 7/9/2023, eff. 7/9/2023)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1989/019.
a. Organics collection program. The department shall establish a mandatory citywide curbside organics collection program for the diversion of organic waste in accordance with this section. Such program shall be implemented by no later than:
1. October 2, 2023, for residential properties in no less than 30 sanitation districts, as determined by the commissioner by rule.
2. October 7, 2024, for residential properties in all remaining sanitation districts.
b. Implementation plan. No later than July 1, 2023, the department shall develop, submit to the mayor and speaker of the council, and post on the department’s website a curbside organics collection implementation plan. Such plan shall include information related to, at minimum:
1. How the department will implement such program;
2. The education and outreach program required pursuant to subdivision e of this section; and
3. How the department will distribute necessary materials, including rodent-proof organics collection bins, at no cost to residential building owners, and a timeline for such distribution.
c. End use of collected organic waste. In the next solid waste management plan prepared pursuant to section 27-0107 of the environmental conservation law and presented to the council pursuant to section 16-140 following the effective date of the local law that added this subdivision, the department shall include a plan to maximize the usable composting of organic waste collected pursuant to this section. Such plan for the usable composting of organic waste shall describe the amount of organic waste collected and sent to composting facilities to be processed into usable compost pursuant to this section.
d. Reporting. The department shall report by weight the total amount of organic waste diverted pursuant to this section during the previous year, disaggregated by sanitation district. Such report shall be included as part of the department’s annual zero waste report required pursuant to section 16-316.5 of this chapter.
e. Education and outreach. The department shall develop an outreach and education program to educate residents, building owners, and staff of residential buildings on the curbside organics collection program established pursuant to this section. Materials used for such outreach and education program shall be available in all designated citywide languages, as defined in section 23-1101, and any additional languages as determined by the department in consultation with local community organizations. No later than two months prior to the implementation of the curbside organics collection program for residential properties in a sanitation district pursuant to subdivision a of this section, the department shall distribute such materials to residents, building owners, and community based organizations in such district. Such materials shall also be made available on the department’s website. Such materials shall include:
1. A detailed explanation of organic waste and the benefits of curbside organics collection;
2. Information on how the curbside organics collection program will be implemented and instructions for how to properly source separate organic waste; and
3. Any other information as determined by the commissioner.
f. Rules. The commissioner shall adopt and implement rules as necessary to effectuate this section. Such rules may include, but need not be limited to, the designation of organic waste as a recyclable material pursuant to subdivision b of section 16-305 of this chapter, procedures requiring the placement of organic waste at the curbside, in specialized containers or in another manner determined by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision d of such section, and the implementation and enforcement of this section and such rules in buildings containing four or more dwelling units pursuant to subdivisions e, f, and g of section 16-305.
g. Penalty. A residential building owner who violates this section shall be liable for a civil penalty as set forth in section 16-324, except that prior to April 1, 2025, a residential building owner who violates this section shall be issued a written warning that a violation has been observed, provided that nothing in this subdivision shall preclude the department from enforcing any rules relating to yard waste separation promulgated pursuant to section 16-308 of this chapter.
(L.L. 2023/085, 7/9/2023, eff. 7/9/2023)
a. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Community partner. The term “community partner” means a not-for-profit organization, community garden or other similar organization that operates or makes available to the public an organic waste drop off site.
Community scale composting facility. The term “community scale composting facility” means a physical location operated by a not-for-profit organization that engages in composting, through a registration or agreement with the department, but that is not of sufficient size so as to be required to obtain a permit for the operation of such facility from the New York state department of environmental conservation.
Organic waste drop off site. The term “organic waste drop off site” means a physical location for the collection of organic waste from members of the public.
b. Except as provided in subdivision c of this section, no later than April 1, 2024, the department, in consultation with community partners, shall ensure that no less than 30 organic waste drop off sites are established and operational throughout the city, provided that no less than three such sites are established in each borough. Each such site shall have a minimum of 20 hours available per week for individuals to drop off organic waste, except that organic waste drop off sites operated by community partners shall be open for a minimum of five hours per week, and each such organic waste drop off site shall be located in a geographic area that is easily accessible, including for persons with disabilities, and in close proximity to public transportation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an organic waste drop off site operated by a community partner may be operated on a seasonal basis.
c. For the purposes of subdivision b of this section, an organic waste drop off site may be a community scale composting facility or a drop off site operated by the department, including co-location with a recycling center, as required pursuant to section 16-310.3.
d. No later than January 1, 2026, the department shall review the requirements of subdivision b of this section and submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council a recommendation as to whether such drop off sites should be continued.
e. Site information. The department shall post on its website information about each organic waste drop off site established pursuant to this section. Such information shall include each such site’s address, contact information, hours of operation and services provided. Where applicable, such information shall also be clearly posted in a publicly visible location at the entrance to each such site.
f. Education and outreach. The department, in consultation with any agency or office designated by the mayor, shall develop an education and outreach program to inform residents about the organic waste drop off sites and community scale composting facilities established pursuant to this section. Such education and outreach shall include the information set forth in subdivision e of this section. Any educational or outreach materials developed pursuant to this section, as well as any other educational materials on recycling that the commissioner deems relevant, shall be available in all designated citywide languages, as defined in section 23-1101, and supplied to each organic waste drop off site. The department shall also perform outreach to community partners and other not-for-profit organizations to provide them with information on how the public can engage in opportunities to work with the department to open and operate organic waste drop off sites and community scale composting facilities.
g. Reporting. The department shall report annually on the operation of organic waste drop off sites. Such report shall be included as part of the department’s annual zero waste report required pursuant to section 16-316.5. Such report shall include, at a minimum, the following information, disaggregated by organic waste drop off site where feasible:
1. The total amount of material collected at such site;
2. The number of individuals who used such site during the reporting period;
3. The number of full-time and part-time staff members working at such site, if any; and
4. Where the organic waste collected at such site was processed following collection.
(L.L. 2023/089, 7/9/2023, eff. 7/9/2023)
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