Specifications include, but are not limited to: The Department of Sanitation (“The Department”) is seeking to take the fight to the rats, reduce odors, reclaim our street space, and get trash bags off the street once and for all. As a component of that plan, DSNY plans to implement a requirement that all New York City residential properties with nine (9) or fewer units place their putrescible solid waste out for collection in containers with tight fitting lids by a date to be determined, and do so exclusively in City-approved bins (“NYC Waste Bins”) by a point in time approximately two years following the initial mandate, in line with waste management best practices found around the world. The bins will be available to New Yorkers at a substantial discount over existing retail prices. While metal, glass, plastic, and paper recycling will not require bins, any resident seeking to use a bin for these streams must also use a cityapproved bin. NYC Waste Bins will be produced and distributed by a sole concessionaire to be awarded by The Department and must be available for purchase no later than six months following the start of the concession and through the duration of the concession thereafter. New York City residents will be responsible for purchasing the bins directly from the Concessionaire. In many cities around the world, bins are provided at no charge, but residents pay for trash collection; in New York City, trash collection is free; as such, there will be a cost for the bins, but they will be vastly cheaper than similar retail products. To that end, the Department is putting forward a concession for the manufacture, sale, and distribution of NYC Waste Bins to residents. The Department’s goals are to (1) improve the overall cleanliness of New York City neighborhoods by reducing the bags of waste placed directly on the street, bringing New York City in line with standard best sanitation practices of other major cities; (2) mitigate rodents by cutting off their access to common food sources; (3) relieve pedestrian obstruction caused by daily trash piles; (4) standardize bins so that they may be mechanically collected by Department collection truck; (5) elevate the visual impact to residential streets by ensuring consistency of bin design; and (6) allow for multiple sizing options to accommodate the different needs of residential properties.
