TDT response to Commercial Waste Zones Report and 2026 Zero Waste Annual Report
For Immediate Release: October 2, 2026
Coalition members available for comment
New York, NY – In response to the Department of Sanitation’s second annual Commercial Waste Zones report, and the 2026 Zero Waste Annual Report the Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition released the following statement:
Commercial Waste Zones
Seven years after passing the Commercial Waste Zones law, the implementation of this system promising improved efficiency, safety, and waste diversion is well underway. For the first time in history, the City is now able to track millions of miles travelled by private sanitation trucks, measure the vast quantities of commercial waste generated, disposed, recycled, and composted, and ensure that private sanitation workers receive proper workplace safety training.
We are disappointed that the second annual CWZ report confirms what workers and advocates have long suspected: that businesses and haulers are disposing of far more commercial waste in landfills and incinerators than they are recycling or composting, with haulers reporting that 85% of customer charges are for refuse disposal rather than recycling services.
We applaud the recent passage of Local Law 118, which strengthens and simplifies recycling rules for businesses, and now call on DSNY and the Office of Management and Budget to significantly ramp up necessary enforcement, customer education, and food rescue programs this year.
Marine Transfer Stations
We are discouraged by the lack of progress in fulfilling a commitment in the 2006 Solid Waste Management Plan to enable commercial haulers to export some waste via city-owned marine and rail transfer stations located near the zones where waste is generated and collected. Although mentioned in the CWZ report, the City provides no tangible steps to begin using state of the art and rail marine transfer stations to improve route efficiency, and reduce truck trips in overburdened outer-borough communities where private transfer stations are clustered. We call on the City Council to pass Intro 367 (Nurse) to ensure that these facilities are available to commercial haulers at a competitive price.
Residential Waste Diversion
Following the implementation of the citywide curbside organics recycling program, DSNY's Annual Zero Waste Report documents a three percent increase in the overall diversion rate for waste managed by the department from FY24 - FY26 from 20.6% to 23.7% and an increase in the specific "capture rate" for organic food and yard waste from 4.1% to 10.3%.
While an increase is promising, these rates remain far below the diversion levels needed to meet New York City's goal of sending zero waste to landfills and incinerators by 2030, the waste reduction goals of New York State's Solid Waste Management Plan, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
We urge Mayor Mamdani, DSNY, the City Council, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to consider adopting the recommendations of our People's Solid Waste Management Plan in the forthcoming 2026 Solid Waste Management Plan, creating a foundation drive the public education, infrastructure investments, and enforcement programs needed to divert significantly more waste and to deliver good jobs, safer streets, and less pollution across our City.
About Transform Don’t Trash NYC
The Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition is dedicated to transforming New York City’s commercial trash industry to reduce waste and pollution, foster clean and healthy communities for all New Yorkers, and create good jobs. Steering committee organizations include ALIGN, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 16, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, Natural Resource Defense Council, and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
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