A tenant dug through the trash of his Queens apartment building on a recent Tuesday afternoon, doing a dirty task that his neighbors couldn\u2019t be bothered to do themselves: separating garbage from organic waste.<\/p>\n
Jose Zapata, 78, told Gothamist outside his seven-unit building in Corona that he was doing a favor for his super, who wanted to avoid a fine from the Department of Sanitation for failure to separate compost.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not supposed to be out here,\u201d Zapata said. \u201cBut so he doesn’t get a fine, I take everything out of the container.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although there was a brown compost bin next to the regular garbage cans outside the building, Zapata found the waste mixed together. Cardboard boxes were stacked to the top of a black trash bin meant for regular waste, while plastic and bottles were mixed with food scraps in the compost bin.<\/p>\n
Zapata’s super had reason to fear a fine. On April 15, inspectors wrote 486 tickets to buildings for failing to compost. It was most on any day single since composting became mandatory<\/a> for all residents in 2024, according to city data.<\/p>\n A sanitation inspector would simply have to open the bins at Zapata’s building to find evidence for a summons.<\/p>\n \u201cThey throw the cardboard, the bottles, everything together,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes I have to be careful, because if I don\u2019t pay attention, I\u2019ll cut myself on a broken bottle mixed in with the food.\u201d<\/p>\n Zapata\u2019s concern about a fine was justified. Inspectors had issued the building next door a $25 fine for failing to separate organic waste on April 11 \u2014 part of a citywide enforcement boost as New Yorkers continue to compost at a dismal rate. As of Friday, the sanitation department has issued 4,209 tickets to building owners for failure to compost since April 13. That\u2019s nearly double the total number of tickets issued for failure to compost for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n