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NYC's 'trash revolution' gets new general as Mamdani names his sanitation chief
By
Liam Quigley
Published Mar 18, 2026
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Liam Quigley
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Liam Quigley
Published Mar 18, 2026
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday named a public service veteran as the new leader of New York City’s “trash revolution.”
Gregory Anderson, who spent more than a decade at the sanitation department before going to work as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s deputy director of state operations, will be New York City’s new sanitation commissioner, the mayor said in a press release.
Anderson’s appointment comes at a critical time for the department. He’ll be responsible for completing the rollout of the city’s trash collection program, which will require the city to figure out how to eliminate its notorious mountains of garbage bags and replace them with bins.
In many cases, that will require large containers to replace street parking spaces.
Anderson will also be tasked with enforcing new mandates for every resident and most New York City businesses to separate their compost from the rest of their trash.
And the department still needs to distribute thousands of wheeled garbage bins to homeowners after wrestling with delays in the bins' delivery.
“As commissioner, Gregory will carry forward the transformative projects he helped build, from waste containerization and curbside composting to commercial waste reform... I look forward to working with Gregory to keep pushing forward to build a cleaner, healthier and more just city for all New Yorkers."
The City Council codified the plan to containerize the city's trash — which was dubbed the "trash revolution" under previous Mayor Eric Adams — into law last fall. Lawmakers gave the city until 2032 to roll out the full program.
Gregory Anderson will be the city's new sanitation commissioner.
Courtesy NYC Mayor's Office
Under the requirements, almost all residential buildings with 31 or more units will be required to use Spanish-made “Empire Bins,” which are already being serviced by a fleet of new side-loading sanitation trucks in some parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Buildings with nine or fewer units are already required to use the smaller city-issued bins that are facing delivery delays.
Anderson was promoted several times while he worked for the sanitation department from 2014 to 2023, according to his LinkedIn page.
He primarily served the department under former Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who left to become Hochul’s director of state operations after she narrowly lost the 2021 mayoral election to Adams.
In 2023, Anderson followed Garcia to become her deputy. Last month, Garcia left her job with Hochul to become the Port Authority's executive director.
Anderson will replace Javier Lojan, who was appointed acting sanitation commissioner in 2024. Lojan replaced Jessica Tisch, who at the time moved over to become NYPD commissioner and has kept the job under the Mamdani administration.
Lojan saw the department through this winter’s record-breaking snowfall and implemented some of the first steps toward containerizing the city’s trash.
Lojan is returning to his previous role as first deputy commissioner, according to The City, which first reported Anderson’s appointment.
Tagged
Politics
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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