NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Vows to End NYC’s Trash Bag Era by 2031: “In the Wealthiest City on Earth, Sidewalks Shouldn’t Be Covered in Garbage”

Six more community districts across New York City will have all of their residential trash stored in containers rather than piled in bags on sidewalks by the end of 2027, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Sanitation Commissioner Gregory Anderson said Tuesday.

The expansion would bring to eight the number of the city’s 59 community districts free of curbside trash bags, and it comes with a commitment from the Mamdani administration to containerize trash citywide by the end of 2031.

“In the wealthiest city in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have their sidewalks covered in garbage. By finishing the job on containerization, we will ensure New York City’s streets remain the envy of the world,” Mamdani said. “We have the plan, we’re investing the money, and we’re delivering on the promise of clean, healthy streets for every neighborhood.”

The districts named Tuesday are Brooklyn Community District 8, covering Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Weeksville; Bronx Community District 2, covering Hunts Point and Longwood; Bronx Community District 5, covering University Heights, Mount Hope, Morris Heights and Fordham Heights; Manhattan Community District 2, covering the West Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Greenwich Village and Nolita; Queens Community District 2, covering Sunnyside, Hunters Point and Woodside; and Staten Island Community District 1, covering the North Shore.

Businesses and buildings with one to nine units, including single-family homes, are already required to use smaller wheelie bins. Tuesday’s announcement applies to medium- and high-density residential buildings, whose managers will instead use stationary on-street containers the city calls Empire Bins.

The bins are assigned to individual buildings and can be opened only by building managers. They are emptied by automated side-loading trucks, which the Department of Sanitation says are the first of their kind in North America. The trucks were built by developers in Torino, Italy, and in Hicksville and Brooklyn, New York, ahead of schedule, according to the department.

Over the next year, the department will assign Empire Bins to every building with more than 30 units in the six districts. Buildings with 10 to 30 units will be able to choose between an Empire Bin and wheelie bins after what the agency described as extensive one-on-one outreach.

The department expects the expansion to require more than 6,500 Empire Bins serving more than 3,500 buildings.

The approach mirrors the city’s first fully containerized district, Manhattan Community District 9 in West Harlem, where trash has been contained since last June using roughly 1,100 Empire Bins for schools and for high- and some mid-density residential buildings.

Officials said the pilot has held up over 10 months, including through a cold and snowy winter, and has produced visibly cleaner streets. The administration said the previous administration declined to fund or plan an expansion.

Brooklyn Community District 2, which includes Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Fulton Ferry, DUMBO, Vinegar Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is scheduled to receive Empire Bins this fall.

“Neighborhood by neighborhood, we are ending the decades-long era of trash bags on the streets of New York City,” Anderson said. “Others have talked a lot about containerizing the city’s trash, but we are actually getting it done, delivering cleaner streets and sidewalks, and fewer rats, to every corner of the city.”

“Containerization is a long overdue step in bringing our city’s trash collection into the modern era, putting an end to the piles of garbage that have become far too common across our city,” Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson said. “We will be hard at work rolling out this program throughout the five boroughs, keeping our public realm clean, safe and enjoyable for all New Yorkers.”

Council members whose districts are included welcomed the announcement.

“Last year, the City Council passed my bill, the Rat Act (Int. 1123), to expand containerization citywide and finally get those unsightly heaps of trash bags off our sidewalks,” said Council Member Crystal Hudson. “I am thrilled for Mayor Mamdani and DSNY Commissioner Anderson’s announcement today to expand containerization to community board districts in every borough, including Community Board 8 in my district. It is encouraging to see this work begin to scale across the city. Containerization is a critical tool in addressing our rat crisis and improving street cleanliness. I look forward to continuing to work with the Mayor and Commissioner to build on this momentum and ensure this effort is fully realized citywide in the coming years.”

“It’s a great win for Lower Manhattan to be prioritized in the expansion of containerization. Community Board 2 has chronic sanitation issues that clog busy streets and create real quality-of-life problems for residents, workers and visitors,” said Council Member Christopher Marte. “Containerization makes a world of a difference in making sure our sidewalks and streets are designed for people to thrive, not rats. I look forward to working with the Department of Sanitation, CB2, and our neighbors to implement cleaner streets, and further beautify the neighborhoods we love.”

“Residential containerization is a mandatory citywide initiative, and our office will be working hand in glove with the administration and DSNY to make sure this rollout makes sense for Staten Island and goes as smoothly as possible for our communities,” said Council Member Kamillah Hanks.

“I am excited to see the expansion of residential containerization in the Bronx. This is a first step in resolving the longstanding issue of rats and illegal dumping in our streets,” said Council Member Oswald Feliz. “Our community deserves cleaner spaces, and I applaud Mayor Mamdani for taking the initiative to continue to improve the quality of life of our neighbors.”