I believe that your tenants,housekeepers etc should first and foremost be educated as to sanitation laws/building requirements regarding disposal of garbage. Here are a few suggestions which have worked in the property I manage.

1. On each compactor area we have a NYC decal outlining the recycle laws

2. Send a memo to the shareholders reminding them of the recycle rules with a copy of the decal.

3. Be proactive and trouble shoot to find out who the violators are (the porter staff can best help you here) and send the unit owner a memo reminding them of the rules regarding recycling.

In many of the buildings they never changed the signs to compactor usage, they still have the incinerator signs up and the residents, housekeepers are not educated as to what to throw down the chute. Check the signage and maybe a building wide memo or if you have Buildinglink or Mybuilding.com you can post a message on the email to all residents.

I'm looking for as much information on compactors as I can get. Please email me if you have the time? I posted a request previously but it may have gone unnoticed. THANK YOU.

I can tell you all as a resident, that when I first moved to NYC 14 years ago, I put just about everything but the kitchen sink down the chute: glass, metal, and anything that I could stuff in there. (Not proud of this fact, mind you...)

I had no idea at that time that there was a personal risk to the building staff, nor did I know that it had the potential to cost the building money. Long story, but the point is, even reasonable people need education to understand the risk of harm, and the likelihood of damage.

We had many problems due to wrong things thrown in the compactor chute, costly repairs, and injuries to our super (one serious) due to broken glass.

1) The first thing you should do is make sure all your residents know proper disposal rules. Post the NYC recycling posters in every compactor room.

2) We also have a 1st floor trash area and wall signs are posted above each trash bin saying what each bin is for (metal/plastic/glass, loose paper only, magazines/catalogs, regular garbage, etc.) We also have a sign saying cardboard boxess must be flattened and taken to the 1st floor.

3) On the wall of the compactor room on each floor we also posted these 3 signs:

-- All recyclables must be taken to the 1st floor.

-- All trash must be in bags and tied tightly.

-- Do not throw wire hangers or clothing, blankets, towels or other "fabric" items in the chute.

These signs have helped a lot. Wire hangers twist and jam the chute, and "fabric" items get caught on the chute's concrete walls and jams build up on top of them, like things in a clogged drain.

We also enacted a rule/policy stating that:

a) Anyone known and proven to throw improper items down the chute or discard them impropely in the 1st floor trash area will be charged a $200 fine.

b) Anyone known and proven to throw improper items in the chute that requires compactor system repair or chute clearing will be charged for that service.

c) If the guilty party is a sublet tenant, the cost for any damage or clearing will be charged to the apt shareholder. The shareholder may if he chooses charge back any fines he incurs to the tenant and deduct it from the tenant's security deposit.

d) If extensive service is required to repair the compactor or chute because of improper disposal and the guilty person is not known, the cost of service will be charged equally to all shareholders.

We've been able to ID people who disposed of items improperly because the super or a board member saw them do it - or people threw dry cleaner hangers and plastic bags, boxes, etc. in the chute that had a delivery label/tag with the person's name on it.

We had two chute jams that damaged mechanical parts of the compactor system. The repairs cost $3,500 and $2,450. We didn't know who caused them so we charged all shareholders equally for them. It's made everyone more careful about their actions, and we've had no major problems since. We also haven't had any complaints from any shareholders about this rule/policy we enacted.

While I agree with most of your rules regarding recycling etc, I would not be very happy if a charge was applied to my monthly maintenance because someone else did not follow the rules and the compactor needed repairs like you stated.

Bob.

Bob - I understand why you wouldn't like paying for compactor repairs if someone else did the damage. But this, at least in our bldg, made everyone much more careful about what they throw out and how.

Charging all shareholders equally for repair costs if the guilty party isn't known eliminated our need for repairs to the extent we needed them which was often. It was a wake-up call to be more responsible and more considerate of fellow shareholders. If we don't charge everyone for repairs in this way, it's money out of operating funds that all shareholders contribute to anyway. They (apparently) realize if they are all careful about trash disposal it means less money overall out of their pockets.

This may not work in all bldgs but it has for us.

Thanks, the last items were very helpful!

This is a no win situation. In spite of numerous memoranda, signs, etc., residents do not seem to understand that their convenience may end up an inconvenience in excess costs, aggrevations, etc.

Obviously, residents need to take initiative to correct others when they see improper disposal. If names of residents appear in the impropoer compactor refuse, then go their apartments and embarrass them. This is the only way they may eventually understand!

AdC

AdC: If residents don't heed memos, signs, etc. on proper trash disposal, I very much doubt they'd correct neighbors if they see them throwing things away improperly. Most people aren't that forthright or don't want a hassle with a neighbor or being told to MYOB by a neighbor if they speak up.

Charging a fine to known offenders and billing the cost of major compactor repairs to a known offender (or to all SHs equally if the offender isn't known) has worked well for us. On the two occasions when we billed all SHs it came to $170 and $150 per apt. No one liked that at all and it woke everyone up. Some people also became conscious of their disposal habits because they were afraid someone would see them throwing something out improperly and tell everyone in the building.

One thing I forgot to mention. If someone doesn't flatten a large cardboard box when they leave it in the trash area, our super puts it back in front of their door. It doesn't stay there long and shows up flattened in the trash area! Most times it doesn't matter if people tear labels off boxes because all boxes from Fed Ex, UPS, etc. are given to our super and he puts apt #s on the boxes in black marker. You can't tear that off!