Coronavirus (COVID-19) Alert

Trash and recycling collections may be delayed. If your items are not picked up, you may leave them out. Continue to follow your normal schedule and place your material at the curb between 4 PM and midnight the evening before your collection day.

Need something else?

You can report that your trash, recycling, or bulk items were not picked up on your service day starting at 8 AM the day after your service day.

Bulk Item Missed Collections

To report a missed collection of non-recyclable bulk items that are 4 feet by 3 feet and larger, you must have your Service Request number. If you don’t, schedule another appointment.

If your bulk items were not picked up by Sanitation on the day of your appointment, you can leave them at the curb or alley where you usually put your items out and file a missed collection complaint starting at 8 AM the day after your scheduled appointment.

For smaller bulk trash items and recyclable bulk items, you can make a complaint starting at 8 AM the day after your service day.

Report a Missed Collection

To make a complaint, items must:

  • Be from a residential building or a non-profit organization that receives collection services from the Department of Sanitation
  • Be placed out properly between 4 PM and midnight the day before the scheduled collection day
  • Remain curbside

Reports are not accepted if:

  • Your scheduled service day was suspended due to a City holiday, winter snowstorm operation, or other event
  • Items were put out late or on the wrong day
  • Items were put out incorrectly (for example, an uncovered mattress)
  • Items were not placed curbside

What Happens Next

Once you make a complaint, leave your trash and recycling curbside.

The Department of Sanitation will respond within 1 to 2 business days after receiving your report.

In general, there is no trash or recycling collection on sanitation holidays but that is subject to change. You can check back near the date of the holiday to confirm the collection schedule.

If a holiday occurs on your trash collection day, put your items out after 4 PM that day for collection beginning the next day.

If a holiday occurs on your recycling collection day, put your items out after 4 PM the day before your next scheduled recycling collection day.

2020 Sanitation Holidays

DateHoliday
January 1 (Wednesday)New Year's Day
January 20 (Monday)Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February 12 (Wednesday)Lincoln's Birthday
February 17 (Monday)Washington's Birthday
May 25 (Monday)Memorial Day
July 4 (Saturday)Independence Day
September 7 (Monday)Labor Day
October 12 (Monday)Columbus Day
November 3 (Tuesday)Election Day
November 11 (Wednesday)Veterans Day
November 26 (Thursday)Thanksgiving Day
December 25 (Friday)Christmas Day

You can make a complaint about chronic missed collection.

Call 311 for assistance.

The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) temporarily suspended the curbside organics composting service on Monday, May 4th, 2020. Organics collections are expected to resume in July 2021.

The City suspended organics service to divert resources to emergency COVID-19 response efforts. Additionally, this crisis and the resulting decrease in economic activity have forced the City to make significant budget cuts to maintain emergency services and core municipal services.

While the service is suspended, you can put your food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard waste in the trash following normal Residential Trash Rules or you can compost at home. Do not put items out in your brown organics bin.

Keep your organics bin in storage for when service resumes. DSNY will not take back or replace brown bins.

If your item is too large to fit in a regular sized (not dual-bin) collection truck, you can break the item into pieces. If the item cannot be broken down, you may need to hire a private removal service.

If you want to know the dimensions of a collection truck, you can request that information in writing.

City Property

You can make a complaint about uncollected trash in front of City-owned property that normally receives pick-up from a City garbage truck.

Only a building official at the site may make a complaint. The official must provide a name and contact number.

Public Schools

Missed collections can only be reported by school officials. In order to report a missed collection, you must contact the Department of Education (DOE) Division of School Facilities in Long Island City.

For information on school schedules, you must contact the DOE Division of School Facilities in Long Island City.

Contact information for School Facilities is available through the school.

If you put items out the evening before a non-collection day, you could be given a ticket.

If you put bulk items larger than 4 feet by 3 feet out for disposal without scheduling an appointment the evening before your collection day, you can leave them curbside and schedule an appointment.

Sanitation ticketing agents know when an area has a trash and recycling collection backlog. A reported backlog reduces the chance that you will get a ticket, or Notice of Violation, when your items are curbside. You still may get a violation.

If you receive a Notice of Violation after reporting a missed trash or recycling collection, get a copy of the Service Request you filed. You should also submit evidence for an Environmental Board hearing.

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