Nearly 3,600 composting tickets issued in NYC in just 2 weeks: officials
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NEW YORK (PIX11) – Around 3,600 tickets for non-composting were issued to New Yorkers within the last two weeks before fines were paused for smaller buildings on Thursday, according to the mayor’s office.
Fines for not composting started on April 1 but have been halted for buildings with less than 30 units through the end of the year. Composting is still mandatory in New York City, even though fines won’t be issued for non-compliance, a spokesperson told PIX11 News.
“In an effort to facilitate even higher participation, we will conduct additional outreach and education on composting before issuing fines to the most persistent offenders who repeatedly refuse to compost,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.
Fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and food scraps are compostable. Yard waste can also be composted.
New Yorkers are expected to leave their composting out on the same day as their recyclable pickup. The city picked up just under 4 million pounds of composting last week, according to the Department of Sanitation.
Larger buildings can still be hit with a $100 fine for not composting, since fines were only paused for smaller buildings.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.