Bin It, NYC: Most Residential Trash Soon Must Go In Containers

NEW YORK CITY — Mountains of black trash bags outside most New York City homes could be a rare sight starting in a year.

The city starting in fall 2024 will require residential buildings of nine and fewer units to put trash in containers, officials said.

And the changes don't stop there — by summer 2026, those containers must be official NYC Bins.

The upcoming rules announced Wednesday — which will cover 95 percent of residential properties across the city — have the potential to literally transform New York City's cityscape, which has been defined for decades by its daily piles of black trash bags, said Mayor Eric Adams.

"We're probably one of the last modern cities where you see trash bags sitting on its roads," he said.

Adams, a self-proclaimed rat hater, and officials also argued that putting trash in bins is a surefire way to rid the city of rodents.

And the bin solution isn't exactly new in New York City.

A Prospect Heights block has been stowing trash in containers for more than a year as an anti-rat strategy.

Still, the upcoming bin rules are only the latest to target trash piles that make rats smile.

All commercial businesses in the city will have to put their trash in secure, lidded containers starting in March 2024, officials announced last month. It's a rule that the city's restaurants, bodegas, delis and chain businesses already had to start following during the summer.

And most New Yorkers also saw the city's trash set-out time push later to 8 p.m. in April — a move officials argued would not only keep streets clean at rush hour, but also reduce the time rats have to chow down.

The new residential rule will require property owners to purchase bins, officials said. A yet-to-be-chosen vendor will be required to keep prices below what bins cost at a retail store, they said.

Official NYC Bins designed to last at least 10 years will start at no more than $50, officials said.

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Mayor's New Anti-Rat Trash Plan Is Already On Prospect Heights Block