Commercial Waste Disposal

If a carter collects garbage after closing time, you may put out the garbage no earlier than one hour before your business closes.

If a carter collects garbage while your business is open, you must put out the garbage within two hours of pickup time.

Businesses that use the services of a private carter must post a decal that clearly states the carter's name and the days and times that the refuse is picked up.

Merchants who transport their refuse personally must post their Business Integrity Commission Self-Hauler registration.

Businesses that throw away less than 20 gallons of garbage per week may share private carter service with other businesses.  The private carter must offer the businesses a written contract and free decal. 

If multiple businesses share a carter, they should set up a single place to put garbage. Businesses must keep a copy of the contract and provide it to Department of Sanitation staff on request.

Since July 19, 2016, certain New York City businesses have been required to separate their organic waste.

Your business must follow these rules if it is a:

• Food service establishment in a hotel with 150 or more rooms
• Food service vendor in an arena or stadium with a seating capacity of at least 15,000 people
• Food manufacturer with a floor area of at least 25,000 square feet
• Food wholesaler with a floor area of at least 20,000 square feet

You can arrange for collection by a private carter, transport organic waste yourself, or process the material on-site.

On-Site Processing

If you choose to process organic material on-site, you must register with the Department of Sanitation within 30 days of installing on-site processing equipment.

Download the Commercial Organics On-Site Processing registration form.

If you are a business, you are required to recycle certain materials and make sure, to the best of your ability, that the items are properly handled by your private carter. 

You must also post easily visible recycling signs and provide clearly labeled recycling containers, so that both employees and customers know what and where to recycle.

You are required to recycle:

• Aluminum foil products (wrap and trays).
• Glass bottles and jars.
• Cardboard (shoe boxes, food boxes, tubes, file folders, egg cartons, trays, corrugated cardboard boxes, cardboard from product packaging).
• Pizza boxes (remove and throw away soiled liner).
• Paper cups.
• Paper (magazines, catalogs, phone books, paper bags, mail, envelopes, wrapping paper, receipts, soft-cover books, white and colored paper).
• Metal cans (including soup and food cans, empty aerosol cans, dried-out paint cans)
• Metal caps and lids
• Bulk metal (furniture, cabinets, microwaves, dishwashers, refrigerators, etc.)
• Newspaper
• Plastic bottles and jugs
• Rigid plastic (caps, lids, food containers, non-food containers, plastic appliances, mixing bowls, flower pots)
• Bulk rigid plastic (crates, buckets, pails, furniture)
• Beverage cartons (milk, juice cartons, drink boxes)
• Textiles (if more than 10% of total waste during any month)
• Yard or plant waste (if more than 10% of total waste during any month)
• Organics (if you are covered by the Commercial Organics Law)

Get more information about rules for business recycling and how to comply.

Some electronics contain hazardous materials, including lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. You can’t dispose of these electronics, also called e-waste, with your regular trash or recycling.

E-waste includes:

Computers and Computer Accessories

• Desktop towers, monitors, laptops, and tablets (ex: iPads)
• Keyboards, mice, and pointing devices
• Printers and document scanners
• Cables, cords, and wiring permanently fixed to a device
• Small-scale servers

TV and Video Equipment

• TVs, VCRs, DVD players, DVRs (digital video recorders)
• Cable boxes, cable/satellite receivers, antennas, digital converter boxes
• Cables, cords, and wiring permanently fixed to the TV

Portable Electronic Devices

• Laptops, tablets (iPads), and e-readers
• Portable music devices/digital music players (iPod, mp3 player, Walkman)
• Digital cameras
• Cell phones

Home Electronics

• Video game consoles
• Fax machines
• Electronic keyboards

Small businesses with fewer than 50 full-time employees, and nonprofits with fewer than 75 employees, are eligible for free and convenient electronics recycling provided by manufacturers. Contact the product manufacturer for more information. You can get a list of registered electronic equipment manufacturers.

Large businesses should first consider donating their unwanted electronics to a charitable organization or school. If donating is not an option, businesses must contract with an electronic waste recycler. When choosing a recycler, look for e-stewards or R2 certification to help ensure that your electronics are recycled responsibly. The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation maintains a list of registered recyclers.

Non-Hazardous E-Waste Removal

E-waste that is not classified as hazardous waste per the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation can be collected by a private carter or you can register as a self-hauler to remove it yourself.

New and existing applicants can make an appointment to visit the Licensing Unit for the following:

• Application review
• Picking up/returning/transferring BIC license plates
• Fingerprinting
• Signing approval orders
• Purchasing BIC decals
• Submitting payment for a bounced check.

Before visiting the BIC Licensing Unit, you must first schedule an appointment online.

Online

Visit the Business Integrity Commission's website.

By Phone