Q&A
Enforcement strategies for residential organic recycling mandates
0:26:24
·
7 min
Council Member Abreu inquires about DSNY's plans for enforcing residential organic recycling mandates. DSNY officials explain their approach to enforcement, outreach efforts, and how they plan to handle non-compliance.
- DSNY will issue warnings instead of violations until spring 2025
- Outreach includes door-to-door visits to buildings with 1-9 units
- Enforcement will be similar to current practices for metal, glass, and plastic recycling
- Sanitation workers can report violations to supervisors who can issue citations
Shaun Abreu
0:26:24
Yeah.
0:26:24
Look.
0:26:24
And I understand that you you you know, I understand why this administration will compare itself to what what it's done, but New Yorkers are comparing what they've experienced before this administration came in and what's happening now.
0:26:37
And so that's very I think that's still very important information for the public because they're the ones who have felt the difference.
0:26:44
The agency has previously stated that it will begin residential organic recycling enforcement next month, but that it will issue warnings instead of violations until spring 2025.
0:26:55
DSNY previously reported has sent mailers to our residents to warn them of the upcoming change.
0:27:01
What other outreach and education has the DSNY done to help education help educate residents about new organic recycling requirements.
Joshua Goodman
0:27:09
We're currently in the process of knocking the door of every building with 1 to 9 units, specifically to discuss curbside composting.
0:27:18
In the three boroughs that are about to come online in every door, every the door of every building with a 1 to 9 units.
0:27:24
In the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, we did the same thing in Brooklyn and Queens.
0:27:30
I have the number in front of me.
0:27:32
And I'm sorry.
0:27:32
I don't.
0:27:32
It's something like 275,000 buildings, but we can get you the exact number.
0:27:37
And, specifically, outreach staff going door to door to talk about curbside composting.
0:27:41
We did do a mailer, significant social media, and there's a extensive amount of infosessions scheduled.
0:27:49
There have been several over the last few months scheduled going forward, and then we see that go slash curbside composting as well as our work with community boards.
Christopher Leon Johnson
0:27:56
Who's who's doing
Shaun Abreu
0:27:56
the door knocking, and what's the budget for them?
Joshua Goodman
0:27:59
It's a contracted vendor funded by an EPA grant, actually.
0:28:04
I believe the budget is about $500,000, but I can get you the exact number.
0:28:10
But it's federal money.
Shaun Abreu
0:28:13
So you believe you can knock on 275,000 doors with $500,000?
0:28:17
Yeah.
Joshua Goodman
0:28:18
Absolutely.
0:28:18
It's based on the it's a per shift fee.
0:28:21
That's what we paid to it's comparable program to what we did in Brooklyn and Queens.
0:28:26
Although with in Brooklyn and Queens, it was not outside vendor it was done
UNKNOWN
0:28:29
by the team.
0:28:29
And do
Shaun Abreu
0:28:29
you have the name of the contracted?
Joshua Goodman
0:28:30
Yeah.
0:28:30
It's an MWD firm called Laurie Davis.
0:28:33
Laurie?
0:28:35
Laurie Davis.
0:28:36
Yeah.
Shaun Abreu
0:28:36
Do you know how how big their team is?
Joshua Goodman
0:28:39
It's 30 campsters per day.
Shaun Abreu
0:28:40
30 kilometers per day.
Joshua Goodman
0:28:41
That's that's the field team.
0:28:42
I don't know about the administrative staff off hand.
Shaun Abreu
0:28:45
Okay.
0:28:46
And do we know which doors aren't even knocked on first?
Joshua Goodman
0:28:49
They've been working on this for several weeks, starting in the Bronx and working their way down.
0:28:55
But they're also running teams in Manhattan and Staten Island.
0:29:00
But Okay.
0:29:02
And the plan is to get everywhere.
Shaun Abreu
0:29:04
And this is just with respect to the 1 to 9 unit requirement that's implemented in November.
0:29:08
Right?
Joshua Goodman
0:29:09
No.
0:29:09
This is they're only talking about organic.
0:29:11
They're doing 1 to 9 unit buildings because that was what we did in Brooklyn and Queens.
0:29:14
It can be very difficult to get into a larger building.
0:29:18
So the focus is just talk to and particularly, you know, larger buildings, as we know, have professional staff, they are more likely to know about the requirement because it's their job to manage the trash.
0:29:32
So the focus of the canvassers is to reach residents in smaller buildings who manage their own trash and explain the process to them.
Shaun Abreu
0:29:39
So in in the districts like mine where we have larger buildings, a lot of supers are not active, you know, manage a lot of landlords are absent.
0:29:49
What do we do in that situation?
Joshua Goodman
0:29:50
So we are that's where the mailing social media and work with community boards really become essential.
0:29:56
The mailing was purposefully done to go to residents rather than property managers, to empower residents, to go to their building management, and to their landlord, to whatever the case may be, and say, I know that this program is coming.
0:30:10
What is the plan for our building?
0:30:12
The program has to be designed to work differently in every building,
UNKNOWN
0:30:16
right,
Joshua Goodman
0:30:16
just like recycling.
0:30:18
We don't mandate specifically where in the building the recycling bin needs to go.
0:30:22
Right?
0:30:23
Buildings need that flexibility based on their different space needs and size, but we really wanted to empower residents to have the information they needed to say to their building management.
0:30:32
I know that you must comply with this.
0:30:34
It's the law.
Shaun Abreu
0:30:35
What will be the exact process for DSNY's enforcement officers to conduct residential organics recycling enforcement?
Joshua Goodman
0:30:42
It will be very similar to the enforcement that exists today around improper separation of metal glass and plastic.
0:30:49
My understanding of the 0 way sector is that it's written to set it up as essentially the same type of violation.
0:30:55
So the so what it what is illegal under the law is putting compostable material in the trash.
0:31:03
Not not having any.
0:31:05
You know, if someone doesn't have any compostable material, they don't have to participate in the program.
0:31:09
But it is certainly our intention to conduct the same kind of enforcement that we do now.
Shaun Abreu
0:31:14
Please read to what that looks like.
Joshua Goodman
0:31:17
It can happen at the curb level.
0:31:19
It can happen sometimes at the transfer station side.
0:31:22
It can happen from supervisory staff who are observing collection.
0:31:26
It takes a lot of forms, you know, with picking up as much as we do in as many places as we do.
0:31:33
But once this becomes illegal city wide, since, of course, the laws rolls it out by borough, we will be developing a more thorough and detailed plan around enforcement.
Shaun Abreu
0:31:54
How many enforcement agents does the SNY have dedicated to residential organics?
Joshua Goodman
0:32:01
Enforcement staff are rarely dedicated to a specific item only when mandated, for example, around commercial waste zones where there were enforcement staff set up to do commercial waste zone enforcement.
0:32:13
Enforcement staff enforce against a variety of violations.
Shaun Abreu
0:32:18
So how do we have confidence that this would the violations on organ on source separation for organics the enforcement for that will will succeed.
0:32:29
Without a clear understanding of how many we're gonna
Joshua Goodman
0:32:32
The department has a legacy of enforcing regulations around source separation of other materials, and that work is going to continue as this is added to the requirements for source separation.
Shaun Abreu
0:32:43
Could a sanitation worker who is on a collection truck issue a violation related to a residential organics, or would the issuance of the violations need to wait until an enforcement agent can be present?
Joshua Goodman
0:32:54
Sanitation workers cannot issue violations for any cannot violation cannot.
0:32:59
But there are multiple groups that can issue violations.
0:33:02
1 is our dedicated enforcement staff, and the other primary group is the sanitation supervisor, which is one level up from sanitation worker.
0:33:10
Every sanitation worker on collection has a direct supervisor, and they are supposed to call observed violations in under many circumstances.
0:33:18
So for example, if a sanitation worker sees a mattress that's not properly wrapped as required by law.
0:33:26
Are supposed to call it into their supervisor who then comes and writes the violation.
0:33:30
So a sanitation worker has an existing process to report violations that they observed even though it is not in their job duties to write the violation personally.
