Section 16-301
§ 16-301 Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as
the "New York City Recycling Law."
Section 16-302
§ 16-302 Declaration of policy. It is hereby declared to be the public
policy of the city to reduce environmental pollution and dangers to
health, to decrease the demand for scarce landfill space, to minimize
the size and cost of the proposed resource recovery program, and to
encourage the conservation of valuable natural resources and energy. It
is the policy of the city to promote the recovery of materials from the
New York City solid waste stream for the purpose of recycling such
materials and returning them to the economy. This chapter shall be
liberally construed in order to effectuate the purposes set forth in
this section.
Section 16-303
§ 16-303 Definitions. When used in this chapter:
"Architectural paint" means interior and exterior architectural
coatings, including paints and stains purchased for commercial or
residential use, but does not include architectural coatings purchased
for industrial use or for use in the manufacture of products.
"Organic waste" means any material found in the waste stream that can
be broken down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost, such
as food scraps, soiled paper, and plant trimmings. As determined by the
commissioner, such term may also include disposable plastic food service
ware and bags that meet the ASTM International standard specifications
for compostable plastics, but shall not include liquids and textiles.
"Department-managed solid waste" means all solid waste that the
department and its contractors collect, all solid waste that the
department receives for free disposal, all solid waste collected for
recycling or reuse through special events or programs promoted, operated
or funded by the department, and all solid waste diverted from
collection by the department that is accepted through non-department
infrastructure for recycling or reuse and counted towards the
department's recycling goals as set forth in subdivision h of section
16-305 of this chapter.
"Household" means a single dwelling or a residential unit within a
multiple dwelling, hotel, motel, campsite, ranger station, public or
private recreation area, or other residence.
"Household and institutional compostable waste" means any compostable
waste, excluding yard waste, in or otherwise destined for any waste
stream collected by the department.
"Household hazardous waste" means:
1. any household waste that is ignitable, corrosive, reactive or toxic
and that, but for its point of generation, would be a hazardous waste
under part three hundred seventy-one of title six of the New York code,
rules and regulations, as may be amended from time to time, and includes
all pesticides, as defined in article thirty-three of the environmental
conservation law, and hazardous waste, as defined in section 27-0901 of
the environmental conservation law, as such laws may be amended from
time to time; and
2. any other household waste that the commissioner determines, by
rule, to be hazardous and require special handling.
"Post-collection separation" means the dividing of solid waste into
some or all of its component parts after the point of collection.
"Post-consumer material" means those products generated by a business
or a consumer which have served their intended end uses, and which have
been separated or diverted from solid waste for the purposes of
collection, recycling and disposition.
"Private carter" means any person required to be licensed or permitted
pursuant to chapter one of title sixteen-A of this code.
"Publicly accessible textile drop-off bin" means any enclosed
container that allows for members of the public to deposit textiles into
such container for reuse or recycling in accordance with the textile
reuse and recycling program established by section 16-310.1 of this
chapter.
"Recyclable materials" means solid waste that may be separated,
collected, processed, marketed and returned to the economy in the form
of raw materials or products, including but not limited to, types of
metal, glass, paper, plastic, yard waste and any other solid waste
required to be recycled or composted pursuant to this chapter, solid
waste collected for recycling or reuse through special events or
programs promoted, operated or funded by the department, and solid waste
accepted through non-department infrastructure for recycling or reuse.
"Recycled" or "recycling" means any process by which recyclable
materials are separated, collected, processed, marketed and returned to
the economy in the form of raw materials or products.
"Recycling center" means any facility operated to facilitate the
separation, collection, processing or marketing of recyclable materials
for reuse or sale.
"Recycling district" means any borough or smaller geographic area the
commissioner deems appropriate for the purpose of implementing this
chapter.
"Rigid plastic container" means any plastic container having a
semi-flexible or inflexible finite shape or form that is capable of
maintaining its shape while holding other products and is designed to
hold food, beverages, and consumer household products, including, but
not limited to, the following types of containers: plastic bottles,
plastic jugs, plastic tubs, plastic trays, plastic cups, plastic
buckets, plastic crates and plastic flower pots, and any other rigid
plastic material that the commissioner may designate by rule, but not
including containers made of polystyrene foam.
"Solid waste" means all putrescible and non-putrescible materials or
substances, except as described in paragraph three of this subdivision,
that are discarded or rejected as being spent, useless, worthless or in
excess to the owners at the time of such discard or rejection, including
but not limited to, garbage, refuse, industrial and commercial waste,
rubbish, tires, ashes, contained gaseous material, incinerator residue,
construction and demolition debris, discarded automobiles and offal.
1. A material is discarded if it is abandoned by being:
i. disposed of;
ii. burned or incinerated, including being burned as a fuel for the
purpose of recovering useable energy; or
iii. accumulated, stored, or physically, chemically or biologically
treated (other than burned or incinerated) instead of or before being
disposed of.
2. A material is disposed of if it is discharged, deposited, injected,
dumped, spilled, leaked, or placed into or on any land or water so that
such material or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be
emitted into the air or discharged into groundwater or surface water.
3. The following are not solid waste for the purpose of this chapter:
i. domestic sewage;
ii. any mixture of domestic sewage and other wastes that passes
through a sewer system to a publicly owned treatment works for
treatment, except (A) any material that is introduced into such system
in order to avoid the provisions of this chapter or the state
regulations promulgated to regulate solid waste management facilities
pursuant to 6 NYCRR part 360 or (B) food waste;
iii. industrial wastewater discharges that are actual point source
discharges subject to permits under article seventeen of the
environmental conservation law; industrial wastewaters while they are
being collected, stored, or treated before discharge and sludges that
are generated by industrial wastewater treatment are solid wastes;
iv. irrigation return flows;
v. radioactive materials that are source, special nuclear, or
by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq.;
vi. materials subject to in-situ mining techniques which are not
removed from the ground as part of the extraction process;
vii. hazardous waste as defined in section 27-0901 of the
environmental conservation law; and
viii. regulated medical waste or other medical waste as described in
section 16-120.1 of this title.
"Source separation" means the dividing of solid waste into some or all
of its component parts at the point of generation.
"Yard waste" means leaves, grass clippings, garden debris, and
vegetative residue that is recognizable as part of a plant or vegetable,
small or chipped branches, and similar material.
To the extent possible under law, Friends of Devin Balkind for Public Advocate has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to New York City Administrative Code. This work is published from: United States.
Special thanks to Benjarmin Kallos and Thom Neale who made this content publicly available as a bulk download.