To combat rats, NYC restaurants will have to put garbage in containers
In the latest front in New York City’s battle against the proliferation of trash and rats, city officials plan to require restaurants and bodegas to put trash in containers instead of bags.
The rule, which will be formally proposed Thursday, could apply to 40,000 food-related businesses – about 20 percent of the city’s businesses – covering “everything from Dunkin’ Donuts to Tavern on the Green,” the food commissioner said. sanitation, Jessica Tisch. , said in an interview.
The move would address one of New York’s ubiquitous, age-old eyesores: the heaps of smelly garbage bags filled with leftover food and liquids from restaurants that sit at the curb for hours at night and make easy targets for rats until commercial carriers arrive.
“We want people to understand that bags on the street attract rats, and we need everyone to do their part – residents, businesses and the city – to get the black bags of rat food off the streets,” Ms Tisch said.
The rule would apply to a wide range of businesses that generate the bulk of the city’s food waste: catering companies, food manufacturers, restaurants, food wholesalers and food stores. They should put garbage on the curb in “rigid bins with tight-fitting lids.”
Why it matters
The new rule is part of the city’s broader plan to move garbage into containers, a simple but revolutionary change in New Yorkers’ garbage habits. This could easily cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade. City officials must purchase new specialized garbage trucks and stationary containers, while also increasing the frequency of household waste collection in large parts of the city.
Other cities such as Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Singapore have already embraced dumpsters.
New York City is notorious for having towers lined with smelly garbage bags along the streets. Currently, many restaurants and bodegas bag the trash at 8 p.m. and can sit there for hours before private go-kart companies take it away.
Mayor Eric Adams’ new rat czar, Kathleen Corradi, said last month she would focus on reducing the presence of food waste, a move scientists say would be the best way to control the rat population.
Background
Earlier this month, the Adams administration announced an ambitious plan to move towards containerization.
City officials found that it was possible to use dumpsters on 89 percent of the city’s residential streets, but that would require removing 150,000 parking spaces — more spaces than were taken up for outdoor dining or the city’s popular bike-sharing program.
To test the idea, the city will begin a new pilot program this fall in West Harlem, placing large shared dumpsters in parking lots of up to 10 residential blocks and more than a dozen schools.
What’s next
The Sanitation Department is holding a public hearing on June 22 on the proposal for food-related businesses to use containers. The rule could come into effect as early as July.