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a. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Chancellor. The term "chancellor" means the chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York.
Food purchase contract. The term "food purchase contract" means any purchase order or contract entered into by the department of education, the principal purpose of which is to provide food, and the value of which exceeds $100,000.
School. The term "school" means a school of the city school district of the city of New York.
Surplus food. The term "surplus food" means any food obtained through a food purchase contract that is not used for the purpose for which it was purchased and that would otherwise be discarded.
b. Food waste prevention plan. No later than October 1, 2021, the chancellor shall prepare and submit to the commissioner a food waste prevention plan. Preparation of such food waste prevention plan shall provide school sustainability coordinators designated pursuant to subdivision c of section 16-307.1 an opportunity to offer ideas concerning food waste prevention. Such plan shall conform to all applicable provisions of law and include, but need not be limited to, the following information:
1. Guidelines for how to identify surplus food that may be safely donated;
2. Any methods the chancellor has identified to reduce the amount of surplus food in schools;
3. Any procedures the chancellor has identified that would allow the department of education or a school to donate surplus food safely and efficiently; and
4. Any barriers the chancellor has identified that would prevent the safe and efficient donation of surplus food.
c. Review by commissioner. The commissioner shall review the plan required pursuant to subdivision b of this section within 90 days of its submission and shall submit recommendations on the plan to the chancellor. The commissioner shall simultaneously submit a copy of the chancellor's plan and the commissioner's recommendations to the speaker of the council.
d. Report. On or before February 1, 2022, the chancellor shall submit a report to the commissioner. Such report shall include, at a minimum:
1. A summary of actions taken to implement the food waste prevention plan;
2. A summary of actions that the chancellor proposes be taken to implement such plan; and
3. Any updates or changes to any information included in such plan.
(L.L. 2021/065, 6/12/2021, eff. 9/19/2021; Am. L.L. 2023/087, 7/9/2023, eff. 7/9/2023)
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)
a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Community garden. The term “community garden” has the same meaning as set forth in section 25-116.
Designated citywide languages. The term “designated citywide languages” has the same meaning as set forth in section 23-1101.
b. The department shall establish an online application for a person to request the collection of organic waste from a community garden by the department in accordance with this section. Such application shall be available: (i) on the department’s website; and (ii) in all designated citywide languages.
c. On and after August 15, 2025, the department shall provide for collection of organic waste from any community garden that has submitted an online application pursuant to this section. The department shall provide for such collection at a frequency that is no less than the frequency the department provides for collection of organic waste from residential properties pursuant to section 16-308.1.
(L.L. 2025/030, 3/29/2025, eff. 6/15/2025)
The commissioner shall establish and implement a curbside collection system for Christmas trees during a minimum of two weeks in January of each year and provide for the composting or recycling of the Christmas trees the department collects or receives for disposal.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1989/019.
a. The department shall expand its public space recycling program by increasing the number of public space recycling receptacles for the collection of recyclable materials including, but not limited to, metal, glass, plastic and paper designated as recyclable materials by the commissioner, to a cumulative total of at least five hundred public space recycling receptacles within three years of the effective date of this section, and to a cumulative total of at least one thousand public space recycling receptacles within ten years of the effective date of this section, at public locations in the city, which shall be in or near public parks, transit hubs, or commercial locations with high-pedestrian traffic. As part of such expansion, the department shall place public space recycling receptacles in all business improvement districts that provide public litter basket maintenance. Wherever practicable, public space recycling receptacles placed pursuant to this section shall be placed adjacent to public litter baskets.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section, the department shall not be required to expand the public space recycling program beyond existing or newly-established collection routes that can be efficiently serviced by the department. The commissioner shall have the authority to remove any public space recycling receptacle placed pursuant to this section, provided that the department replaces any such public space recycling receptacle, within thirty days of removal, with additional public space recycling receptacles at the same or in a different location on a one-to-one basis.
c. No person responsible for removing or transporting recyclable materials placed in public space recycling receptacles shall commingle such recyclable materials with non-recyclable materials or otherwise improperly dispose of such recyclable materials.
d. The department shall report the total number of public space recycling receptacles added during the relevant reporting year, and the locations in which they were placed. Such report shall be included as part of the department's annual zero waste report required pursuant to subdivision b of section 16-316.5.
e. The department may enter into sponsorship or partnership agreements with entities such as for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and district management associations established in accordance with section 25-414 of the code to further the goals of this chapter.
(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. On or before January first, two thousand eleven, the department shall establish a citywide textile reuse and recycling program that shall, at a minimum, provide for the recovery of textiles by placing department-approved publicly accessible textile drop-off bins at appropriate locations on city property or property maintained by the city and organizing public textile reuse and recycling sites throughout the city that provide convenient drop-off locations for all city residents. In addition, the commissioner shall explore opportunities to work cooperatively with private entities, including, but not limited to, not-for-profit corporations and religious institutions, to promote expanded siting of publicly accessible textile drop-off bins on private property throughout the city. The department shall consider using department personnel and/or facilities in order to implement the provisions of this section.
b. No publicly accessible textile drop-off bin placed pursuant to this section shall be placed on city property or property maintained by the city, or on a public sidewalk or roadway, unless otherwise authorized by the city. No publicly accessible textile drop-off bin shall be placed on private property without the written permission of the property owner or the property owner's authorized agent. The owner or other person responsible for each such bin shall report at least every three months to the department the amount of textiles collected in such bin by weight. Each publicly accessible textile drop-off bin shall prominently display on the front and on at least one other side of the bin, the name, address and telephone number of the owner or other person responsible for the bin. This information shall be printed in characters that are plainly visible. In no event shall a post office box be considered an acceptable address for purposes of this subdivision.
c. The department shall report by weight the amount of textiles collected in publicly accessible textile drop-off bins located on city property or property maintained by the city, through public textile reuse and recycling sites pursuant to subdivision a of this section and in publicly accessible textile drop-off bins maintained on private property. Such report shall be included as part of the department's annual zero waste report required pursuant to subdivision b of section 16-316.5.
(Am. L.L. 2023/087, 7/9/2023, eff. 7/9/2023)
a. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the commissioner shall establish a voluntary paint stewardship program under which manufacturers of architectural paint, in cooperation with distributors of architectural paint and retail establishments that sell, or offer for sale, architectural paint in the city of New York, may establish a collection or other reclamation system to collect architectural paint from consumers for reuse, recycling or environmentally sound disposal.
b. The commissioner shall provide assistance or guidance to participating architectural paint manufacturers, distributors and retail establishments in developing and implementing strategies to reduce the quantity of architectural paint in the waste stream, promote the reuse of architectural paint that would otherwise be discarded and disseminate information regarding options to recycle architectural paint including, but not limited to, posting information regarding the voluntary paint stewardship program on the department's website.
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