LANDLORDS are furious about a new trash-sorting law that could force them to dumpster dive or risk a $300 fine.
The new rule requires property owners to separate organic waste like food scraps and fallen leaves from regular garbage.
The law was enacted on April 1 in New York City and is meant to use composting to help fight the city’s rat problem.
New York City will fine a building $25 for failing to separate food scraps from general waste.
The fines may be as high as $100 to $300 for larger buildings.
However, renters responsible for the garbage won’t have to pay the fine. The landlords will.
Maintenance staff and building superintendents are furious over the new law, as many claim it allows renters to throw their trash down the garbage without consequence.
“We don’t think that forcing hard-working building supers to be elbow-deep sorting through tenants’ garbage — turning building maintenance into a daily dumpster dive — is where the government should be focusing their energy and resources right now,” Kenny Burgos, the New York Apartment Association CEO and former Bronx state rep, told The Post.
Apartment buildings with four or more units must add another bin for compost.
Food scraps, leaf and yard waste, and food-soiled products such as takeout boxes are required to be thrown out in a compost bin.
“Every building in NYC handles trash differently,” Vincent Gragnani, a spokesman for Sanitation, wrote The Post an email.
“But for decades they have ALL been required to sort their recyclables — and now they are required to sort their compostable material as well.
“Whether that means bins on every floor or bins in one common area such as a basement would be up to the building management.
“The bottom line is that food and yard waste must be separated from trash and put out on recycling day so that we can turn it into finished compost or clean energy.”
As it stands, New Yorkers only recycle about half of what they actually should be recycling, per a 2023 sanitation report.
Landlords are now “challenging” the city to charge renters instead of homeowners.
“I challenge the people who passed this law and are trying to implement it on the backs of the housing people in the city of New York to spend two weeks sorting through garbage to see how well it works, especially in a multifamily building with a huge garbage chute,” said building manager John Crotty.
Crotty called the plan “ill-conceived” and argued that renters won’t change their habits if they don’t bear the cost.
What are the compost rules in NYC?
Starting April 1, 2025, all residents must comply with composting rules or face fines.
What to Compost
You can compost the following:
- ALL leaf and yard waste (flowers, Christmas trees)
- ALL food scraps (meat, bones, shells, dairy)
- Prepared and cooked foods
- Greasy, uncoated paper plates and pizza boxes
- Compostable products (certified or labeled)
Do NOT Compost
- Trash (wrappers, pet waste, medical waste, diapers, foam, personal or hygiene products)
- Metal, glass, plastic, cartons, clean paper, or cardboard
How to Compost
- Use a labeled bin with a secure lid (55 gallons or less), or your DSNY brown bin.
- Line bins with clear plastic, paper, or compostable bags.
- For extra yard waste, use paper lawn bags or clear plastic bags.
- Bundle twigs/branches with twine next to bins and bags.
- Order a free composting bin decal for your own labeled bin at www.bins.nyc.
Mandatory Separation
Storage Area for Buildings
He argued that this law will nearly double the time supers spend on trash duty.
“[City officials] don’t care bout the employees who work in these buildings at all,” he said.
“It is an impossible standard — it is detached from reality.”
New York City residents can now call 311 to report buildings not complying with the compost law.
