a. In addition to the notice requirements of section one thousand forty-three of chapter forty-five of the charter, within thirty days of the effective date of any rules promulgated pursuant to this chapter, and as frequently thereafter as the commissioner deems necessary, the department shall notify all community boards and persons occupying residential, commercial and industrial premises affected by the rules, of the requirements of the rules, by posting notices containing recycling information in public places where such notices are customarily placed and, in the commissioner's discretion, employing any other means of notification deemed necessary and appropriate.
b. The commissioner shall compile relevant recycling, reuse and composting information, including material available on the department's website, to create and make available a guide to the city's residential recycling program. Such guide shall, at a minimum, summarize and explain the laws and rules governing curbside recycling, list the collection locations and collection dates for non-curbside collected recyclable materials such as household hazardous waste and textiles, and provide detailed information and instructions on how to recycle any materials not collected by the department for which non-city or non-department recycling programs exist. Such guide shall be made available to residential building owners, or the net lessees or persons in charge of such buildings, community boards, not-for-profit organizations, public schools, and other relevant agencies and entities, and shall also be made available on the department website. The commissioner shall update the recycling guide biennially, or as necessary, based on changes to recycling laws, rules or other relevant information to be included therein.
c. The department shall develop and implement an educational program, in conjunction with the department of education, private schools, labor organizations, businesses, neighborhood organizations, community boards, and other interested and affected parties, and using flyers, print and electronic advertising, public events, promotional activities, public service announcements, and such other techniques as the commissioner determines to be useful, to assure the greatest possible level of compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The educational program shall encourage waste reduction, the reuse of materials, the purchase of recyclable products, and participation in city and private recycling activities.
d. The department shall perform such research and development activities, in cooperation with other city agencies, and public and private institutions, as the commissioner determines to be helpful in implementing the city's recycling program. Such research shall include, but not be limited to, investigation into the use of cooperative marketing programs, material recovery facilities, recycling as an economic development tool, export promotion, tax credits and exemptions for market promotion.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1989/019.