The trash rules, from the bin to the curb

Between residential and commercial containerization rules, 70% of NYC's trash is now required to be in containers. By moving the black bags off the streets and into sealed, rodent-proof receptacles, we are reclaiming public spaces, cutting off the 24-hour rat buffet, and improving quality of life for all New Yorkers.

The rat buffet is DSNY's own phrase. The 70% is the share of the city's trash that the rules now require to be in some kind of container, residential and commercial combined.

New Yorkers throw out over 10,000 tons of garbage a day.

As of November 12, 2024, single- and two-family homes, and buildings with up to 9 apartments are required to use bins with secure lids for trash set out.

Step one. From late 2024, a bag on the curb outside a house or a small building has been a violation; the bin could be any bin of 55 gallons or less with a lid that closes.

As of June 1, these properties are REQUIRED to use only official NYC Bins for trash set out. A warning period will be in effect through September 7. Full enforcement of the NYC Bin requirements for trash will begin Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

Step two, and the date that matters this fall. From September 8 the generic bin with a lid is no longer enough for trash; it has to be the city's own model. The capitals are DSNY's.

If you are using any other bins with a secure lids that is 55 gallons or less for trash set out, you have until Tuesday, September 8, 2026 to switch to official NYC Bins.

The NYC Bin is the official trash bin for properties with 1-9 residential units and some larger buildings. Separate NYC Bins are also available for recycling and composting, but are not required.

Trash is the only stream where the official bin is mandatory. Recycling and compost can still go out in any labeled, lidded bin, or in clear bags.

Properties with 1-9 residential units, as well as special-use buildings receiving DSNY collection – including City agencies, nonprofits, houses of worship, and professional offices in residential buildings – are required to use bins for trash setout.

Official NYC Bins are available for pick-up at NYC Home Depot stores. Bins can also be ordered online for delivery using one of Home Depot's on-demand delivery partners.

One retailer, plus DoorDash, Instacart, and Uber Eats for delivery. The manufacturer is Otto, which is who to email about the orders placed in fall 2025.

Owners of one- and two-family homes who receive the STAR property tax benefit are eligible for an NYC Trash Bin reimbursement from the NYC Department of Finance.

The reimbursement is tied to STAR, the state's school tax relief exemption, and to one- and two-family homes only. A three-family house buys its own.

Cost about $50 for the most common size

One of the specifications DSNY wrote into the 2023 request for proposals for whoever would make the bin.

Residential Buildings with 1-9 Units: Place trash out after 6:00 PM in a bin of 55 gallons or less with a secure lid.

Residential Buildings with 10+ Units: Place trash out after 6:00 PM in a bin of 55 gallons or less with a secure lid, or place trash out after 8:00 PM, if putting bags directly on the curb.

The two-hour difference is the whole incentive: a bin buys a building two more hours of curb time. Bags on the curb are a 10-unit-and-up privilege, and one the Empire Bin program is designed to retire.

To ensure collection, all waste must be set out by midnight.

If you set your waste out incorrectly, at the wrong time, or on the wrong day, you may be fined.

Fines may be issued for each violation, and the amount may increase with each additional violation issued within a 12-month period.

$50 for the first offense; $100 for the second offense; $200 for the third and subsequent offenses.

That ladder applies to set-out timing, to the bin rules, to recycling set-out, and to mattresses put out without a sealed clear bag. The clock on the ladder resets after twelve months.

Do not overload bins – you must be able to securely close lids to contain waste and keep pest out. You should have enough bins to contain all your trash and composting material.

A bin whose lid will not close counts as no bin. The page also fines broken bins and anything spilling out of them.

As of April 1, 2025, leaf and yard waste, food waste, and food-soiled paper separation from trash is mandatory CITYWIDE. Property owners who do not separate compostable material from trash may be fined.

Buildings with 1 to 8 Units: $25 for the first offense; $50 for the second offense; $100 for the third and subsequent offenses. Buildings with 9 or More Units: $100 for the first offense; $200 for the second offense; $300 for the third and subsequent offenses.

The composting ladder is gentler for small buildings and steeper for large ones. Food scraps go in a labeled lidded bin or the brown DSNY bin, lined with clear, paper, or compostable bags if you like.

Properties with 31 or more residential units will be required to use Empire Bins (European-style stationary, on-street containers) for their trash. These bins are assigned to specific buildings, opened with key cards, and serviced by DSNY's new automated side-loading garbage trucks.

Properties with 10 to 30 units will choose between Empire Bins and official NYC Bins for trash.

Empire Bins are currently in use in Manhattan Community District 9 (M9). The program is expanding to Brooklyn Community District 2 (BK2) in the fall, with a plan to be citywide by 2032.

Manhattan's District 9 runs up the west side from Morningside Heights through Manhattanville and West Harlem; Brooklyn's District 2 is Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, and Fort Greene. The bags on the curb outside a big building have a six-year expiration date.