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New Yorkers stopped composting after city stopped giving them fines, report shows
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 3, 2026
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Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 3, 2026
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Previous Mayor Eric Adams undermined his landmark “trash revolution” last year when he halted fines on buildings that didn’t separate compost from the rest of their trash, according to a report released by the city's Independent Budget Office on Friday.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani reinstated those fines when he took office, but the level of enforcement hasn’t matched the ferocity of Adams’ initial blitz in April 2025, when inspectors issued an average of 237 fines a day to landlords caught setting out garbage mixed with food scraps, or who didn’t set up a container for compost at all.
The tickets increased composting, but the progress was shattered when then-First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro ordered the sanitation department to halt the enforcement weeks after the blitz began.
Budget analysts found the enforcement freeze correlated with a sharp drop in composting. New Yorkers set out triple the amount of compost last April compared to the month before. After Mastro’s order, compost collection fell 43% through the end of 2025, according to the report.
The ticketing has barely recovered since then, even though Mamdani ordered fines inspectors to resume issuing fines at the start of 2026. Inspectors have issued 610 tickets for failure to compost this year.
Just 2.4% of residential waste that could be turned into compost was actually being turned away from landfills in 2025, causing the city to waste money on labor and special composting trucks to run routes that make relatively few pickups.
The sanitation department is relaunching a public awareness campaign launched under Adams, which features Scrappy, an anthropomorphized brown compost bin. The ads from the campaign can be seen on city buses, outside bodegas and on the city’s ferries.
“Obviously, our first priority is to educate folks on how to do it. The campaign that we're running right now is really focused on people who live in apartment buildings,” said Sanitation Commissioner Gregory Anderson. “Enforcement is always a part of these programs. It isn't our first tool in the toolbox, but it's always one that we're willing to use.”
Sanitation department spokesperson Vincent Gragnani said New Yorkers who are eager to follow the composting rules can call 311 to get their building in compliance.
Samantha MacBride, a professor at Baruch College and former research director for the sanitation department, said that while she doesn’t support an enforcement-driven effort to increase composting, last April's fines had an undeniable effect on raising composting rates.
“If sanitation wants to have another bump in the capture rate, an easy thing for them to do would be to have another April-style blitz this year,” she said.
Tagged
new york city
sanitation
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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