Mayor Adams wants businesses to 'containerize' waste to tackle citywide rat problem
Mayor Eric Adams says he's on a mission to make New York one of the cleanest cities in America.
New York City officials announced Wednesday a new push for businesses to "containerize" their waste.
Mayor Eric Adams says he's on a mission to make New York one of the cleanest cities in America, and that includes getting rid of the piles of trash on sidewalks that attract rats.
The city proposed a rule requiring all food-related businesses, including restaurants, grocery stores and delis, to put trash into secure containers, rather than directly on the street back in May.
That rule will be published in the city record this week and will go into effect at the end of July.
Officials are also in the process of expanding that requirement to all chain businesses with five or more locations in the city. They say that when both rules are implemented, they will cover 25% of businesses in New York and require about 4 million pounds of waste produced each day to be placed in secure containers.
The initiative will be rolled out in phases. More mandates are expected.
