Int. No. 281-B
By Council Members Powers, Nurse, Rivera, Brewer, Hanif, Cabán, Bottcher, Hudson, Menin, Stevens, Joseph, Ayala, Restler, Abreu, Krishnan, Avilés, Ossé, Marte, Moya, Williams, Dinowitz, Richardson Jordan, Riley, Gutiérrez, De La Rosa, Won, Barron, Feliz, Louis, Narcisse, Brannan, Schulman, Ung, Velázquez, Lee, Kagan, Holden, Gennaro, Salamanca, Brooks-Powers, Sanchez and Farías (by request of the Brooklyn Borough President)
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to organic waste drop off sites
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Title 16 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 16-308.2 to read as follows:
§ 16-308.2 Organic waste drop off sites. a. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Community partner. The term “community partner” means a not-for-profit organization, community garden or other similar organization that operates or makes available to the public an organic waste drop off site.
Community scale composting facility. The term “community scale composting facility” means a physical location operated by a not-for-profit organization that engages in composting, through a registration or agreement with the department, but that is not of sufficient size so as to be required to obtain a permit for the operation of such facility from the New York state department of environmental conservation.
Organic waste drop off site. The term “organic waste drop off site” means a physical location for the collection of organic waste from members of the public.
b. Except as provided in subdivision c of this section, no later than April 1, 2024, the department, in consultation with community partners, shall ensure that no less than 30 organic waste drop off sites are established and operational throughout the city, provided that no less than three such sites are established in each borough. Each such site shall have a minimum of 20 hours available per week for individuals to drop off organic waste, except that organic waste drop off sites operated by community partners shall be open for a minimum of five hours per week, and each such organic waste drop off site shall be located in a geographic area that is easily accessible, including for persons with disabilities, and in close proximity to public transportation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an organic waste drop off site operated by a community partner may be operated on a seasonal basis.
c. For the purposes of subdivision b of this section, an organic waste drop off site may be a community scale composting facility or a drop off site operated by the department, including co-location with a recycling center, as required pursuant to section 16-310.3.
d. No later than January 1, 2026, the department shall review the requirements of subdivision b of this section and submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council a recommendation as to whether such drop off sites should be continued.
e. Site information. The department shall post on its website information about each organic waste drop off site established pursuant to this section. Such information shall include each such site’s address, contact information, hours of operation and services provided. Where applicable, such information shall also be clearly posted in a publicly visible location at the entrance to each such site.
f. Education and outreach. The department, in consultation with any agency or office designated by the mayor, shall develop an education and outreach program to inform residents about the organic waste drop off sites and community scale composting facilities established pursuant to this section. Such education and outreach shall include the information set forth in subdivision e of this section. Any educational or outreach materials developed pursuant to this section, as well as any other educational materials on recycling that the commissioner deems relevant, shall be available in all designated citywide languages, as defined in section 23-1101, and supplied to each organic waste drop off site. The department shall also perform outreach to community partners and other not-for-profit organizations to provide them with information on how the public can engage in opportunities to work with the department to open and operate organic waste drop off sites and community scale composting facilities.
g. Reporting. The department shall report annually on the operation of organic waste drop off sites. Such report shall be included as part of the department’s annual zero waste report required pursuant to section 16-316.5. Such report shall include, at a minimum, the following information, disaggregated by organic waste drop off site where feasible:
1. The total amount of material collected at such site;
2. The number of individuals who used such site during the reporting period;
3. The number of full-time and part-time staff members working at such site, if any; and
4. Where the organic waste collected at such site was processed following collection.
§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.
Session 12
ARP/JSA/KS
LS # 3975
5/31/23 4:15PM
Session 11
NKA
LS # 13724
Int. No. 1942-2020