City Writes 2,000 Tickets as Mandatory Organics Recycling Debuts

The brown bin has New Yorkers paying green and seeing red.

Since mandatory recycling of organic waste went into effect citywide on April 1, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued nearly 2,000 tickets to building owners, including co-op and condo boards, who have failed to comply with the new law, Gothamist reports.

The rollout of organics recycling — a major tool for cutting methane emissions from landfills — began in Queens in 2022, expanded to Brooklyn in 2023, and finally to Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in 2024. 

The rule has technically been in effect since October, but DSNY initially gave 30,000 written warnings to building owners who failed to comply. But on April 1, sanitation supervisors began issuing fines starting at $25 for the violation. They gave 1,885 summonses during the first seven days of enforcement, according to DSNY.

“Past administrations talked a big game about composting, but none of them had the guts to get it done,” says DSNY spokesperson Joshua Goodman. “New Yorkers have been clamoring for years for a curbside composting program that’s normal. No special rules, no off days, no starts and stops.”

Penalties will be the same as recycling fines, which are based on the size of the building: For one- to eight-unit buildings, fines will start at $25 for the first offense and will increase to a maximum of $100 per offense for the third infraction and beyond. For buildings with nine or more units, first-time offenders will be charged $100, $200 for the second time and $300 for each time thereafter.

On Thursday, just 10 days after the program became mandatory, the seven members of the city council's conservative Common Sense Caucus introduced legislation that would stop DSNY from issuing fines, making the program voluntary. “ I do not hate composting,” Councilmember Joann Ariola, a Queens Republican, tells Gothamist. "I don't like mandates, and people who want to compost should be able to compost and those who don't should not be made to compost, especially when it is a policy that is destined for failure.”

Any bin with a tightly sealed lid is acceptable to the city, though building owners can order 55-gallon brown bins for $43 apiece. The organics bins are picked up by DSNY crews on regular recycling days. The program accepts fruits and vegetables, eggshells, coffee grounds, bread, pasta, cereal, rice, meat, bones, dairy, prepared foods, greasy uncoated paper plates, pizza boxes, leaves and yard waste. It does not accept metal, glass, plastic, cartons, pet waste, medical waste, diapers, foam or hygiene products.

Some of the collected organic waste goes to compost facilities in New Jersey and Staten Island, where it is broken down into nutrient-rich compost, then either sold to landscapers or given away to residents and community groups. The rest of the organic waste goes to anaerobic digesters, large sealed containers that store it while bacteria break it down. The largest hub for this process is in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where “eggs” convert the waste into biogas, a renewable fuel that can power homes.

There are signs that organics recycling is catching on. City data shows that DSNY collected 2.5 million pounds of compostable material during the first week of April. That’s up more than triple the 737,000 pounds during the same period last year, though the program hadn’t been fully rolled out to all five boroughs at the time.

Composting is crucial for fighting climate change, says Councilwoman Sandy Nurse, a Brooklyn Democrat who sponsored the Zero Waste Act, a legislative package that passed in 2023 and includes the curbside organics bill.

“New Yorkers should not overthink this,” Nurse tells The New York Times. “Is this something I can eat? Or grow? Cool, it goes in the bin.”