What to Know
- Mayor Eric Adams revealed on Tuesday the next step of his war against rats: the use of mandatory hard-lidded trash bins for all businesses.
- According to the proposal, bins would be mandatory for all businesses starting March 1, 2024.
- The sanitation commissioner told NBC 4 New York that the department will be sending mailers to every business in the city and doing door knocks to spread the word. All of that before that one month grace period before the fines.
Rats are a big problem in New York City -- and, according to city officials, bags of trash are a big reason why.
With this in mind, Mayor Eric Adams revealed on Tuesday the next step of his war against rats: the use of mandatory hard-lidded trash bins for all businesses.
All New York City shops that sell food already have to abide by this rule.
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“Public enemy No. 1, many of you don't know, are rats and we are going to get rid of them, but public enemy No. 2 are our garbage bags,” Adams said.
Adams alongside Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch explained the future rules, which include:
- Bins will be mandatory for all businesses starting March 1, 2024.
- There is a one month grace period.
- Fines will start being given out if businesses keep putting their bagged garbage outside without the use of a trash bin: $50 for the first violation, then $100, and then $200 for each additional offense.
“We are giving businesses several months notice so they can make the necessary preparations," Tisch said.
News
However, some New Yorkers are skeptical that something as basic as a trash bin will make a difference when it comes to rats.
Almost daily, New Yorkers post pictures of violators which the NYC Sanitation Department follows up with warnings and summonses -- making enforcement an ongoing challenge.
According to the city, "full commercial containerization will get 20 million pounds of trash — half of city’s waste — off New York City streets every day."
A city councilman whose district is part of the next phase -- containerizing residential trash — got almost giddy with confidence that the war on rats is turning a corner. A pilot of residential containerization and mechanized collection is currently underway at 14 schools and 10 residential blocks in the Hamilton Heights section of Manhattan.
“We’ve got rats on the run," NYC Council member Shawn Abreu said. "We are sinking their ship. Nice knowing you, Mickey. Go back to Florida. You’ve squeaked your last squeak. You’ve reached the end of the rat race.”
The sanitation commissioner told NBC 4 New York that the department will be sending mailers to every business in the city and doing door knocks to spread the word. All of that before that one month grace period before the fines.
