Receptacles required: NYC buildings can now buy city-mandated trash bins
- Buildings with nine or fewer units need to put out trash in containers by Nov. 12th
- Landlords can use their own bins now but must buy city receptacles by summer 2026
- Owners and property managers can purchase the new bins for either $46 or $53
On Jan. 2nd, 2025, the city will begin issuing fines for bagged trash, starting at $50 for first-time offenders, $100 for a second offense, and $200 for every subsequent failure to contain trash.
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New York City rolled out a new rule last year that requires buildings to put their trash in containers in an effort to starve Gotham’s rat population. Now, landlords and property managers can buy the bins that will soon become a familiar sight on Gotham’s streets.
The new NYC bins are available for $45.88 for a 35-gallon bin and $53.01 for a 45-gallon container, plus taxes and processing fees, according to their North Carolina-based manufacturer Otto. Buildings with nine or fewer residential units will have to put trash out in containers, rather than in bags, by Nov. 12th this year.
“Today, we are tossing even more black bags into the dustbin of history and taking the next step forward in our trash revolution,” said Mayor Eric Adams when the bins were rolled out—literally—on July 8th. “The first-ever, official NYC bin is high-quality, affordable, and will build on our efforts containerizing more than 70 percent of the city’s trash to protect our most valuable and limited resource—our public space.”
[Editor’s note: A version of this article was originally published in October 2023. It has been updated to include new information about how to buy the city-mandated trash bins and their pricing.]
The city recommends ordering NYC trash containers no later than Oct. 1st to make sure they arrive by the Nov. 12th deadline.
Residents or supers that have their own bins can continue to use them for now—so long as their containers have lids that latch to keep rats out. But all buildings with nine or fewer residential units, including private homes, will be required to buy official NYC bins by June 1st, 2026.
Adams announced that smaller residential buildings would be required to containerize trash in October last year, and the new rule could impact as many as 765,000 small residential buildings in NYC, according to that October announcement.
The move comes as the city overhauls its commercial garbage collection policies to curb the city’s rat population, but it could add an extra burden for building staff. But the requirements shouldn’t add a new financial burden, said Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
“Many property owners already use bins for their trash—and pay over $100 retail in order to keep the streets clean,” Tisch said on July 8th. “We’re unveiling the official NYC bin—beautiful, durable, and less than $50 for the most common size.”
New rules
Requiring buildings to put trash in bins, rather than black garbage bags, is one of a handful of changes DSNY has implemented in the last two years. The agency moved the earliest time trash bags could be placed on the curb from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in April. (If residents have trash bins, they can put out full containers as early as 6 p.m.)
That’s not the only change adding more work for building management: NYC has also newly expanded its compost collection program, which will become mandatory in the spring of 2025. After rolling out in Queens in 2022 and more broadly in Brooklyn this month, the city plans to bring the voluntary pick-up program to the Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan next year.
The Adams administration says the changes have helped reduce rat 311 complaints citywide, but some property managers have raised concerns about the extra work building staff will have to take on.
Extra labor
For example, requiring staff to put trash out after 8 p.m., instead of 4 p.m., means that workers have to stay at buildings much later, said Peter von Simson, the CEO of New Bedford Management.
“I think we can all agree something needs to be done to try and control the rat population,” von Simson said. “That being said, it is also clear that working after 8 p.m. or early in the morning can detract from staff spending time with their family.”
Von Simson expected the container rule to impact only 10 of the 140 buildings his firm manages, but was concerned that staff members would have to spend more time cleaning the bins after DSNY picks up the trash.
“[The Department of Sanitation] adding a new requirement, that garbage be put out in cans with lids makes sense to keep the streets looking neat and prevent rats from accessing the garbage,” von Simson said. “[But] the more time required by cleaning up the cans/lids after the [Sanitation] does their pickup will result in even more after-hours work.”
