New York, NY – In response to the Department of Sanitation’s annual Commercial Waste Zones report, the Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition released the following statement:

“Six years after passing the Commercial Waste Zones law, DSNY has finally released data on the rollout progress. For the first time in history, the City is now able to track millions of miles travelled by private sanitation trucks and measure the vast quantities of commercial waste generated, disposed, recycled, and composted.  This data confirms what workers and advocates have long suspected — that businesses and haulers are recycling and composting only 26% of the commercial waste, trucking 74% to landfills and incinerators, a diversion rate far below leading cities.

“We are disappointed that, based on DSNY’s implementation target of December 2027 for all 20 zones, New Yorkers will be waiting until 2028 for progress toward cleaner air, safer streets, and sustainable jobs. We are also disappointed that DSNY did not include data on the transfer and recycling facilities utilized by haulers in the first zone, which is critical to measuring ongoing impacts on environmental justice communities where private waste facilities are concentrated. The City must do better. 

“We call on DSNY and the City Council to pass stronger commercial recycling laws, step up enforcement, and most critically, to implement all 20 Commercial Waste Zones by the end of 2026 and continue to reject the hospital industry’s attempts to undermine this life-saving system. Now is the time to deliver good jobs, safer streets, less pollution, and better recycling to communities and businesses across the city.”

About Transform Don’t Trash NYC

The Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition is dedicated to transforming New York City’s commercial trash industry to reduce waste and pollution, foster clean and healthy communities for all New Yorkers, and create good jobs. Steering committee organizations include ALIGN, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 16, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, Natural Resource Defense Council, and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. 

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