New trash rules have rolled out across New York City requiring residents to change how they handle waste.
Beginning Tuesday, buildings with nine or fewer residential units must place trash in bins with secure lids. The rule applies to about 765,000 buildings, or roughly 95% of residential properties in the five boroughs, according to city officials.
The bins must be 55 gallons or less, be in good condition and have a secure lid. Officials said they should be placed on the curb after 6 p.m. Recycling can still be placed in bins or clear bags.
A warning period will be in effect through Jan. 2, 2025, officials said. After that, noncompliance will result in fines. The first offense will carry a $50 fine, the second will be $100 and any subsequent offenses will be $200.
Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the changes are already helping reduce the city’s rat population and enhance street cleanliness.
“I know it has. And I think it's bigger than rats. Sure, the black bags of trash on the street every day, the 44 million pounds that we put out every day, they serve as the all-night, all-you-can-eat buffet for rats, but they also look gross and they smell gross,” Tisch said during an interview on “Mornings On 1” Tuesday.
The city aims to prioritize education over enforcement during the warning period, Tisch said.
“We don't want to be or enjoy being punitive. We really want to just see compliance. And when we rolled out similar mandates to all businesses, we did a one-month grace period, a warning period, where instead of getting a summons for noncompliance, people would get a warning that looked a whole lot like a summons. And that really worked,” Tisch said. “We saw compliance go through the roof during that warning period, so that by the time we started our fines a month later, we already had widespread compliance. We're hoping to see the same thing with residential trash.”
Starting June 1, 2026, residents will need to use official “NYC Bins,” available in two sizes — 35 gallons and 45 gallons — costing $45.88 and $53.01, respectively.
Asked whether homeowners could leave a single bag of trash outside their bins on occasion, Tisch said, “I think each homeowner needs to assess how much trash they produce.”
“What we saw with businesses, first, they underestimated it. So they would buy two bins when really they need three, and so what we’re asking everyone to do is search deep in their souls, and figure out how much trash you actually produce and buy the right number of bins,” she said.
“We absolutely will pick up the plastic bag if you put a plastic bag next to the bin,” Tisch added, but she encouraged households to “embrace” the use of multiple bins if needed.
Tisch said that the official bins are high quality and available at a competitive price.
“The good news is, the bins are 50 bucks. They are the highest quality bins you can get on the market, at about half the price of your standard bin,” she said.
The bins are available for purchase at bins.nyc or at any Home Depot in the city, Tisch said.
Residents must follow maintenance and storage rules for the bins, but Tisch noted that the city is “pretty flexible with those rules.”
“They can be stored indoors, outdoors or within 3 feet of the property line,” she said. “But they cannot be left out at the curb all day, and that is part of the enforcement that we are and will continue to be doing.”