New York City releases request for proposals for residential containerization

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Commissioner Jessica Tisch have announced the release of a request for proposals (RFP) to procure new, on-street waste containers for residential containerization. 

Rollout is planned to begin in Manhattan Community District 9 in Spring 2025, with full citywide expansion expected after community outreach and an environmental review, DSNY says.

“Trash belongs in bins, not on our streets—but for half a century, New Yorkers have had to put up with mountains of garbage and hordes of rats lining our commutes,” Adams says. “We’re saying ‘no’ to that status quo. We’ve already put 7 billion pounds of business trash a year into bins, and we’re not stopping there.

“These new on-street containers will allow us to bring the ‘Trash Revolution’ to our large buildings, and they’ll bring us that much closer to the day when there are no more black bags on our streets.”

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This RFP addresses up to 60 percent of residential waste. Buildings with 31 or more units, which account for 50 percent of all residential waste, will be required to use stationary on-street containers; and buildings with 10 to 30 units, which account for 10 percent of all residential waste, will be given the choice between containerization via stationary on-street containers or via individual bins.

Last year, DSNY announced all residential buildings with nine or fewer units, which account for 40 percent of all residential waste, will be required to use secure, sealed individual bins beginning in fall 2024.

Because buildings of 31 units or more generate enough waste to support at least one on-street container, each building will have its own container for the exclusive use of its residents. The containers will not be shared between multiple buildings, something DSNY says better matches the city’s density and allows buildings to more easily maintain and clean containers.

“Just one week after requiring the containerization of all commercial trash everywhere in the city, we have released an RFP to procure up to 100,000 European-style containers for residential use on streets citywide,” Tisch says.

The on-street containers will be approximately four cubic yards, holding the equivalent of 28 large bags of trash. These containers will be lifted by a fleet of automated side-loading trucks.

Final selection of the on-street containers will be determined by DSNY’s evaluation committee and will be based on a technical evaluation focused on aesthetics, durability, ease of cleaning, price and other factors.

The contract created from the RFP will have a duration of 10 years and is expected to go into effect in November. The RFP can be seen here.