The mayor’s office has said all fines will resume in 2026.
Patch – By David Luces | April 21, 2025
NEW YORK CITY —City officials and the Sanitation Department have decided to pause some of composting fines, just weeks after enforcing new rules citywide.
Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement that “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 has said all composting fines will resume in 2026.
In the meantime, buildings with more than 30 units that get more than four warnings from the sanitation department will receive a $100 fine for failing to compost. The original fine breakdown called for fines that started at $25 for smaller buildings and could climb to $300 per violation for bigger residences.
The reversal on fines comes after officials said many New Yorkers complained about how new compositing rules were confusing, with some unsure which sanitation bin to use.
The sanitation department had issued more than 4,000 tickets in just over two weeks since the new rules were implemented, according to reports.
City Councilmember Shahana Hanif, who introduced the composting bill, said the pause on the rules calls the entire policy’s future into question.
“To suddenly pause without outlining what are the next steps here, it brings to question, will this administration gut the program entirely?” she told NBC News.
The warning period for the new law went into effect in October 2024 and ended on April 1. Buildings with one to eight units would receive a $25 fine for the first offense, Patch previously reported.
For the second offense, a $50 fine will be imposed and then an additional $100 for $100 for subsequent offenses.
Buildings with more than nine units could face a $100 fine for the first offense, then $200 for the second offense. A $300 fine will be imposed after the second offense.
Officials have said all food, yard and food-soiled paper waste must be placed in a bin on recycling day.
Compostable material that need to be put in a separate bin includes:
- Dairy
- Prepared food
- Napkins
- Towels
- Tea bags
- Paper plates
- Coffee filters
- Pizza boxes
- Products labeled compostable
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Meat
- Bones
