Textiles, Yard, and Food Waste
Some businesses that meet a minimum threshold of generated textile, yard and/or food waste must separate and recycle those materials.
Textiles
If textiles make up more than 10% of your business’s waste during any month, you are REQUIRED BY LAW to separate and recycle or repurpose all textile waste, including fabric scraps, clothing, belts, bags, and shoes.
Visit donateNYC to find donation options.
Yard and plant waste
If yard or plant waste makes up more than 10% of your business’s waste during any month, you are REQUIRED BY LAW to separate out organic waste and dispose of it separate from trash or recycling. This including grass clippings, garden debris, leaves, and branches.
Find out more about disposal options for commercial landscapers.
Food waste
Certain large, food-waste-generating establishments are REQUIRED BY LAW to separate organic waste from trash and recycling.
Find out more about commercial organics requirements.
Construction and Demolition Waste
The Business Integrity Commission certifies waste haulers in the City and maintains a list of all registered haulers approved to remove construction and demolition waste.
Deconstruction, as opposed to demolition, is the careful dismantling of buildings in order to preserve materials for reuse and recycling. The benefits of deconstruction include job creation, waste diversion, energy conservation, and historical preservation.
Reusing & exchanging building materials
- donateNYC Exchange
- Big Reuse
- Rebuilding Together NYC Rebuild Center
- Habitat for Humanity NYC ReStore
Recycling Take-Back Programs
Plastic bag take-back
Single-use plastic bags are banned, with limited exceptions, in New York State.
New York State’s plastic bag recycling law requires large retailers to take back all types of film plastic for recycling, including single-use plastic bags. Any store that provides plastic carry out bags to customers. Exceptions are stores that are smaller than 5,000 square feet, and non-chain stores smaller than 10,000 square feet.
Find rules and resources for carry out bags.
Bottle and can take-back
New York’s Returnable Container Act requires retailers to collect a deposit on every eligible container they sell, and to accept returns of containers for deposit refunds.
The law applies to retailers and distributors of container beverages for off-premise consumption in New York State.
Take-back exceptations
Businesses can refuse to return a deposit if:
- Their store doesn’t carry that type of container.
- The container doesn’t have a proper New York refund label.
- The container has anything in it besides a small amount of dirt, dust or moisture.
- The container isn’t in reasonably good condition.
- Bottles are broken or cans are corroded or crushed.