(a) Designated covered establishments. Pursuant to § 16-306.1(b) of the New York City Administrative Code, the following commercial establishments are "designated covered establishments" for purposes of this section and shall comply with the requirements set forth in this section:
(1) an arena or stadium having a seating capacity of at least fifteen thousand persons;
(2) a food service establishment that is located within a hotel having at least one hundred sleeping rooms;
(3) a food manufacturer that has a floor area of at least twenty-five thousand square feet;
(4) a food wholesaler that has a floor area of at least twenty thousand square feet;
(5) a food service establishment that has a floor area of at least seven thousand square feet;
(6) (i) a food service establishment that is part of a chain of two or more locations in the City of New York, have a combined floor area of at least eight thousand square feet and that (A) operate under common ownership or control; (B) are individually franchised outlets of a parent business; or (C) do business under the same corporate name.
(ii) Any person who owns or operates two or fewer food service establishments may request a waiver from the commissioner of the requirements of this section if no single food service establishment has a floor area of at least seven thousand square feet, the food service establishment or establishments are individually franchised outlets of a parent business covered by this subparagraph, and the owner or operator establishes that the food service establishment or establishments do not receive private carting services through a general carting agreement between a parent business and private carter; and
(7) a retail food store that has a floor area of at least ten thousand square feet, or any retail food store that is part of a chain of three or more retail food stores that have a combined floor area space of at least ten thousand square feet and that operate under common ownership or control and receive waste collection from the same private carter;
(8) any building or premises where food service establishments having a total combined floor area of at least eight thousand square feet are located and where the owner of the building or premises, or its agent, arranges or contracts with a private carter for the removal of waste from food service establishments having at least eight thousand square feet of such building or premises;
(9) a location at which a food preparation establishment has a floor area of at least six thousand square feet;
(10) a catering establishment that is required to provide for the removal of waste pursuant to § 16-116 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York whenever the anticipated attendance for any particular event is greater than one hundred persons; and
(11) sponsors of a temporary public event with an anticipated attendance of greater than five hundred persons per day, excluding activities conducted pursuant to a valid permit for filming, demonstration, parade, or block parties.
For purposes of this section, the "floor area" of an establishment has the same meaning as defined under Section 12-10 of Chapter 2 of Article 1 of the Zoning Resolution.
(b) Source separation requirements for designated covered establishments.
(1) A designated covered establishment shall source separate organic waste generated at its premises and either:
(i) arrange with a private carter for the separate collection of such organic waste directly from its premises for the purpose of a beneficial organic waste use;
(ii) transport its own organic waste directly to:
(A) an organic waste processing facility; or
(B) to a transfer station authorized by the New York state department of environmental conservation to receive source separated organic waste that will be removed to another location for beneficial organic waste use, provided that the designated covered establishment first registers with the business integrity commission pursuant to subdivision b of § 16-505 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York; or
(iii) provide for a beneficial organic waste use on-site at its premises, provided that any on-site composting must be in-vessel, and that it arranges for the collection or transport of the remainder of such organic waste, if any, in accordance with clause (i) or (ii) of this subparagraph.
(2) A designated covered establishment that registers with the business integrity commission pursuant to subdivision b of § 16-505 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York and transports its own organic waste shall enter into a written agreement with an organic waste processing facility that provides for a beneficial organic waste use. A copy of such written agreement shall be submitted by the covered establishment to the Department upon request within five business days of such request either by postal mall or electronic mail to the Department.
(3) A designated covered establishment that provides for a beneficial organic waste use on-site at its premises for some or all of the organic waste it generates shall:
(i) to the extent practicable, weigh and measure by volume the amount of organic waste disposed of by any such method on-site. A designated covered establishment shall maintain records of such weights and measurements for a period of three years, and the records shall be submitted by the covered establishment to the Department upon request within five business days of such request either by postal mail or electronic mail to the Department;
(ii) provide equipment on site that is properly sized to handle and process organic waste generated at the premises in a safe and sanitary manner, together with a contingency plan for handling the organic waste in the event such system becomes inoperable. The designated covered establishment shall ensure that no organic waste or other solid waste storage problem or public nuisance or condition hazardous to public health or safety is created during scheduled or unscheduled equipment maintenance, or equipment breakdown;
(iii) ensure that any such organic waste processing system is installed in accordance with the Health Code, including but not limited to the provisions of 24 RCNY Health Code Article 143, the New York City Building Code, including but not limited to Subchapters 12 and 13 of Chapter 1 of Title 27 of the Administrative Code, if applicable, and all applicable laws and rules governing the discharge of waste and waste water, including 15 RCNY § 19-11 governing the discharge of grease into the city sewer system, and any other applicable regulations enforced by the department of environmental protection or the New York state department of environmental conservation. In accordance with section 413.1 of the New York City Plumbing Code, a commercial food waste grinder unit cannot be used as an organic waste processing system for purposes of this paragraph; and
(iv) within thirty days of the installation of any on-site organic waste processing equipment, report to the Department the manufacturer, model number, size and the minimum and maximum processing capacity of the equipment and the date of installation of such equipment on a registration form prescribed by the Department, which shall be renewed annually.
(c) Storage and set-out requirements for containers.
(1) A designated covered establishment shall provide separate containers for the disposal of organic waste in any employee work area where such organic waste is generated by employees during the preparation of food. Containers for the disposal of organic waste to be used by employees shall be labeled to indicate only organic waste may be properly placed therein. For purposes of this paragraph, "label" means a display of words, which may also include graphics, that is affixed to or placed upon a container.
(2) A designated covered establishment that arranges for the collection of organic waste by a private carter shall ensure that it properly stores and maintains its source separated organic waste separately from all other materials generated at the premises, and shall not allow organic waste that is stored and maintained to be commingled with designated or nondesignated recyclable material or solid waste. All such organic waste shall be stored in a manner that does not create a public nuisance.
(3) A designated covered establishment that arranges for the collection of organic waste by a private carter shall separately set out such organic waste in one or more containers that:
(i) have a lid and a latch, lock, or other fastening or sealing mechanism or cord that keeps the lid closed and is resistant to tampering by rodents or other wildlife;
(ii) have the capacity that meets the disposal needs of the designated covered establishment and its private carter;
(iii) are compatible with the private carters hauling collection practices; and
(iv) are closed and latched at the time any such containers are placed out for collection by the carter and are labeled to indicate organic waste is placed inside.
(d) Decal and instruction requirements.
(1) (i) A designated covered establishment that arranges for the collection of organic waste by a private carter must post a decal that states clearly and legibly the trade or business name, address, telephone number of, and the day and time of pickup by the private carter that collects the designated covered establishment’s organic waste.
(ii) A designated covered establishment must prominently display such decal by affixing it to a window near the principal entrance to the designated covered establishment so as to be easily visible from outside the building or, if this is not possible, must prominently display such decal inside the designated covered establishment near the principal entrance. If posting a decal near the designated covered establishment's entrance is not practicable, the owner of such designated covered establishment must retain a copy of such decal on its premises and must furnish a copy to the Department upon request.
(2) A designated covered establishment must post instructions on the separation requirements for organic waste in an area where such instructions will be visible to employees who are disposing of organic waste. Such instructions must state that organic waste is required to be source separated and must explain how to source separate such material.
(e) Enforcement and compliance.
(1) The commissioner, together with the commissioner of the department of mental health and hygiene, and the commissioner of the department of consumer affairs, reserves the right to conduct lawful inspections during business hours to ensure compliance with this section. Such inspections may include, but need not be limited to:
(i) inspections of organic waste set out by a designated covered establishment for collection by his or her private carter to determine whether such material has been set out in accordance with paragraph 2 of subdivision c of this section; and
(ii) inspections of putrescible solid waste transfer stations that are authorized to accept source separated organics by the New York state department of environmental conservation.
(2) Any person that violates any provision of this section shall be liable for civil penalties as provided for under paragraphs one, two and three of subdivision e of § 16-324 of the New York City Administrative Code.
(Added City Record 12/18/2015, eff. 1/17/2016; amended City Record 2/15/2018, eff. 8/15/2018; amended City Record 1/31/2020, eff. 7/31/2020; amended City Record 5/21/2024, eff. 6/20/2024)