Nearly 2K Tickets Issued In 1st Week Of New NYC Compost Rules: Report

NEW YORK CITY — Nearly 2,000 tickets were issued to property owners during the first week of New York City's new composting rules, according to a report.

During the first week of April, the city's sanitation department gave out 1,885 summonses during the first week of enforcement, Gothamist reported.

The warning period for the new law went into effect in October 2024 and ended on April 1. Buildings with one to eight units would receive a $25 fine for the first offense, Patch previously reported.

For the second offense, a $50 fine will be imposed and then an additional $100 for $100 for subsequent offenses.

Buildings with more than nine units could face a $100 fine for the first offense, then $200 for the second offense. A $300 fine will be imposed after the second offense.

According to city data, the sanitation department collected 2.5 million pounds of compostable material in the first week of the new rules.

On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams told reporters that they were hoping to get more people to commit to composting.

"We don’t want to just hit people with fines to encourage them, we want people to buy into the program and make sure that it’s done correctly,” Adams said.

Officials have said all food, yard and food-soiled paper waste must be placed in a bin on recycling day.

Compostable material that need to be put in a separate bin includes:

• Dairy
• Prepared food
• Napkins
• Towels
• Tea bags
• Paper plates
• Coffee filters
• Pizza boxes
• Products labeled compostable
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Meat
• Bones