(a) Designated recyclable materials.
(1) Pursuant to § 16-306 of the Administrative Code of the city of New York, the following materials are designated as recyclable materials for purposes of this section:
(i) metal cans, metal items, aluminum foil, aluminum foil products, metal components of bulk waste, bulk metal, containers made of glass, beverage cartons, rigid plastics and bulk plastic (collectively referred to as designated recyclable metal, glass and plastic);
(ii) high grade office paper, newspaper, magazines, catalogs, phone books, mixed paper and corrugated cardboard (collectively referred to as designated recyclable paper);
(iii) textiles generated by establishments whose solid waste during any monthly period is comprised of at least 10% textiles;
(iv) yard waste generated by establishments whose solid waste during any monthly period is comprised of at least 10% yard waste;
(v) construction and demolition waste generated by entities that exclusively engage in an activity that generates construction waste during the ordinary course of business, except that such construction waste shall exclude plaster, wall coverings, drywall, roofing shingles and glass window panes; and
(vi) organic waste, if designated as a recyclable material pursuant to § 16-306.1 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York;
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subdivision, if there exists any amount of paint, solvents, or hazardous substances contained in a designated recyclable container, such container must not be deemed a designated recyclable material. Instead, such containers must be disposed of in accordance with applicable local, state or federal law.
(b) General source separation, set-out and collection requirements for private carter-collected waste.
(1) Generators of private carter-collected waste must source separate the materials designated in subdivision (a) as follows:
(i) Designated recyclable paper must be tied and bundled securely, or placed out separately for collection in transparent or translucent bags, or labeled bins;
(ii) Designated recyclable metal, glass, and plastic must be placed out together, for collection in transparent or translucent bags or labeled bins, provided that bulk metal and bulk plastic items that do not fit in transparent or translucent bags or labeled bins may be placed out separately;
(iii) Yard waste must be placed out separately for collection from all other designated recyclable materials and solid waste, and must be disposed of in accordance with § 16-308 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York;
(iv) Textiles must be placed out separately for collection from all other designated recyclable materials, solid waste and organic waste; and
(v) Construction and demolition debris must be placed out separately for collection from all other designated recyclable materials, solid waste and organic waste.
(2) Designated recyclable metal, glass and plastic, which may be commingled together, must not be placed in the same bags with designated recyclable paper. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if such materials are collected pursuant to single stream collection and recycling as allowed by paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of this section.
(3) Any materials that have special collection requirements pursuant to applicable local, state or federal law must be disposed of accordingly, and must not be commingled with solid waste, designated recyclable materials or organic waste.
(c) Commingling of solid waste with designated recyclable materials.
(1) The commingling of any designated recyclable materials with solid waste is prohibited.
(2) The commingling of organic waste that has been designated pursuant to § 16-306.1 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, with solid waste or other designated recyclable materials is prohibited.
(3) Notwithstanding the source separation provisions of subdivision (b) of this section, a generator of private-carter collected waste may commingle designated metal, glass, and plastic with designated recyclable paper if:
(i) the private carter that collects such material operates as a designated carter pursuant to an agreement that was entered into pursuant to § 16-1002 of the Administrative Code and that authorizes such carter to use single stream collection of recyclables; or
(ii) such generator obtains a registration from the business integrity commission pursuant to paragraph (b) of § 16-505 of the Administrative Code of the city of New York to transport its own designated recyclable materials and is authorized by the business integrity commission to use single stream collection of recyclables.
(d) Generator requirements.
(1) All generators of private carter-collected waste must ensure that the separation of materials as set forth in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section is maintained prior to the collection of such materials by a private carter or recycler. However, such requirements do not apply if single stream collection and recycling is used by a private carter or recycler pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of this section. All generators of private carter-collected waste must ensure that designated recyclable materials as set forth in subdivision (a) of this section are kept separate from solid waste and organic waste, if designated pursuant to § 16-306.1 of the Administrative Code of the city of New York.
(2) As required by § 16-116 of the Administrative Code of the city of New York, generators must post a decal identifying each private carter approved to provide collection and/or recycling services for such generators. Such decal must use lettering of a conspicuous size and be prominently displayed by attaching it to a window near the principal or service entrance of the generator's premises so as to be easily visible from outside such premises. Such decal must display the private carter's name, the private carter's license number issued by the business integrity commission pursuant to Title 16-A of the Administrative Code, and the unique customer identifier number assigned to the customer by the private carter pursuant to 16 RCNY § 20-36(a).
(e) Implementation and notice requirements.
(1) Owners, net lessees or persons-in-charge of a premises who arrange for the collection of solid waste. The owner, net lessee or person-in-charge of a premises who arranges for the collection by a private carter or recycler of solid waste or designated recyclable materials generated by such premises must:
(i) arrange with a private carter or recycler for the recycling, reuse or sale for reuse of designated recyclable materials in accordance with subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section, except where such materials are managed pursuant to the returnable container act, also known as the bottle bill, found in title 10 of article 27 of the environmental conservation law. This provision will not apply if an establishment obtains a registration issued by the business integrity commission pursuant to subdivision b of § 16-505 of the Administrative Code of the city of New York.
(ii) Notify his or her tenants, occupants, and/or employees, at least annually, in writing, of applicable source separation requirements, including what materials are required to be source separated and how to source separate such materials. A copy of such notification shall be made available to the Department upon request, provided that any penalty imposed for a violation of this subparagraph shall be reduced to zero dollars if, on or before the initial return date stated on the notice of violation, the owner, lessee or person-in-charge of the premises submits proof of having cured such violation.
(iii) Post and maintain one or more signs in maintenance areas where refuse and recycling are collected and/or stored, which describe what materials are required to be source separated and collection procedures for such materials; and
(iv) Post and maintain one or more such signs in public areas where designated recyclable materials that are required to be source separated are routinely generated, provide containers for, or otherwise provide for the separate collection of, such materials.
(2) Tenants or occupants. Tenants or occupants of premises that generate private carter-collected waste must, at a minimum:
(i) source separate materials in accordance with subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section, except where such materials are managed pursuant to the returnable container act, also known as the bottle bill, found in title 10 of article 27 of the environmental conservation law;
(ii) notify their employees, customers, clients, or others lawfully on the premises of applicable source separation requirements by posting and maintaining one or more signs that set forth what materials are required to be source separated and how to source separate such materials.
(3) Any sign posted pursuant to this paragraph must be posted in a common area or areas routinely visited by such employees, customers, clients, and/or others lawfully on the premises.
(4) Containers for the collection of designated recyclable materials to be used by customers, clients, or others lawfully on the premises must be labeled to indicate what materials may be properly placed therein.
(5) Nothing in this subdivision will preclude a tenant or occupant from instituting his or her own source separation program in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (c) or (d) of this section.
(f) Responsibilities of operators of non-putrescible and putrescible solid waste transfer stations. Operators of non-putrescible and putrescible solid waste transfer stations must:
(1) remove any translucent plastic bags containing source separated designated recyclable metal, glass and plastic that are intended for recycling, reuse, or sale for reuse, or transfer to a recycling processing facility; and
(2) maintain any separated designated recyclable paper materials apart from all other solid waste and other designated recyclable materials before their transfer to another location.
(g) Enforcement and compliance.
(1) The Commissioner reserves the right to conduct lawful inspections at reasonable times to ensure compliance with this section. Such inspections may include, but need not be limited to:
(i) inspections of solid waste and/or designated recyclable materials placed out for collection by a generator to determine whether such materials have been placed out for collection in accordance with subdivisions (b), (c) and (d) of this section;
(ii) inspections of solid waste brought to Department solid waste disposal facilities;
(iii) inspections of non-putrescible and putrescible solid waste transfer stations; and
(iv) inspections of any other facilities required to be registered or licensed by the department.
(2) Any person who violates any provision of this section will be liable tor civil penalties as provided for under § 16-324 of the Administrative Code of the city of New York. In addition, operators of non-putrescible or putrescible solid waste transfer stations will be liable for civil penalties as provided for in § 16-133(a)(2) of the Administrative Code of the city of New York and rules promulgated thereunder.
(h) Severability. The provisions of these Rules shall be severable and if any word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection or section of these Rules, or the applicability thereof to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the remainder of these Rules and the application thereof shall not be affected thereby.
(Amended City Record 2/5/2016, eff. 8/1/2016; amended City Record 11/16/2021, eff. 12/16/2021*; amended City Record 5/21/2024, eff. 6/20/2024)
* Editor's note: For specific effective date provisions, see the editor's note at 16 RCNY Ch. 20.