New trash container rules could put nonprofit serving homeless New Yorkers at risk
The Department of Sanitation is requiring trash to be placed in large containers instead of in bags left on sidewalks.
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New city trash rules set to take effect this summer could force some nonprofit organizations to shut down, leaders say.
The Department of Sanitation is requiring trash to be placed in large containers instead of in bags left on sidewalks. ACE, a nonprofit that employs formerly homeless and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers to clean city streets, says the cost of complying with the new rules could devastate its operations.
“We'd have to lay off all of our workers, essentially, and we would no longer be able to provide the services,” said Leo Gil, a leader at ACE. “We'd hate to see all of those folks be out of a job and folks who are coming into the program not being granted that opportunity.”
ACE workers pick up thousands of bags of trash each week while rebuilding their lives through the program.
DSNY says they’ve been working with ACE to find a solution, and disputes claims that the new rule will cost jobs, saying they’ve been flexible through the process.
Councilmember Susan Zhuang is pushing for an exemption, and joined two dozen of her colleagues to send a letter to DSNY.
“In our city, we always talk about helping homeless, but when we have a program to help the homeless get jobs, the city wants to ban them,” she said.
The City Council budget proposal includes $5 million for BIDs to purchase the bins, but doesn’t include nonprofits like ACE.
The new container rules are set to begin in August, but the city says it won’t start issuing fines until 2026.
