NYC trash bin requirement: What is the penalty for missing June 1 deadline?

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — New York City homeowners will soon ditch their old trash cans for new required bins.

Starting June 1, New York City will require residential buildings with one to nine units — including one- and two-family homes, nonprofits and city agencies — to use officially designated rat-resistant trash containers for curbside collection, according to the city Department of Sanitation.

Residents can purchase these bins at Home Depot locations citywide, with prices ranging from $45.19 to $54.60 depending on the size. Residents can also order a bin online for delivery through DoorDash, Instacart or Uber Eats.

Residents will need to have these required NYC Bins for trash pickup by the June 1 deadline or face penalties, according to the city Department of Sanitation.

Property owners subject to this rule who don’t use an NYC Bin for trash could receive a fine after June 1, according to the agency.

“We use summonses as one of many tools to encourage compliance, and property owners should stay tuned for more information on enforcement,” said Vincent Gragnani, spokesperson for the city Department of Sanitation.

The fines are the same for existing residential containerization rules:

$50 for the first offense$100 for the second offense$200 for the third and subsequent offenses

While every recent city Department of Sanitation rule implementation has begun with a warning period, dates for an official warning period haven’t yet been announced.

More than 1 million bins have been purchased thus far ahead of the deadline, according to the Sanitation Department.

Here are the different size bins for purchase:

45-gallon bin: Recommended for properties with multiple residential units. It can hold up to four kitchen trash bags.35-gallon bin: Recommended for small, single-family homes. It can hold up to three kitchen trash bags.25-gallon bin: Recommended for properties with space restrictions or not much trash. It can hold up to two kitchen trash bags.

For a 45-gallon bin, the price is $54.60, while the price of a 35-gallon bin is $47.25. The price of a 25-gallon bin is $45.19.

NYC Bins are also available for recycling and composting — but they are only required for trash, according to the Sanitation Department.

The NYC Bin was unveiled in July 2024 as the next step in New York City’s plan to get black trash bags off the streets. The bins were selected to cost no more than $50 for the most common size, available in multiple sizes, are rat-resistant, easy to use by sanitation workers, and are compatible with mechanized collection trucks.