Commercial Waste Zones begin implementation in North Brooklyn
To state the obvious: garbage trucks are a necessity, and those who work them are truly unsung heroes. Take a moment to reflect with gratitude; it only takes a snowstorm to remind us what we take for granted.
NYC has two types of garbage collection. New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the city’s public agency for trash, recycling, and composting that serves residential, government agencies, and many nonprofit facilities. The other, private waste haulers, serve most commercial properties and some large multi-tenant buildings.
The private haulers participated in an open market system, which didn’t limit the number of companies that could provide services. Trucks from dozens of hauling companies logged 79,000 vehicle miles traveled within the city per day, adding up to 12 million unnecessary truck miles per year, according to NY Department of Sanitation (DSNY) estimates. Excessive garbage truck traffic in North Brooklyn has been a long-term issue. Out of 59 Community Board districts, four contained 26 out of the 38 City’s private transfer stations. One of those four districts is Brooklyn Community Board 1.
When Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso was a NYC Council Member for District 34, he chaired the sanitation committee. He led the passing of two pieces of legislation that lessened truck pollution in North Brooklyn: Intro 1574-2019 and Intro 0157c, which were enacted in 2019 and 2018 respectively. Intro 1574 established Commercial Waste Zones (CWZ) and once signed by Mayor de Blasio became Local Law 199 of 2019.
Fast forward to January 2, 2025, the first CWZ was established in Central Queens. Then followed: The Bronx, South Brooklyn, Northeast Queens, and south Midtown and Lower Manhattan. Now it’s North Brooklyn’s turn to get on the CWZ bandwagon; this zone is called Brooklyn North and contains: Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Bedford–Stuyvesant.
The sign-up period for businesses in Brooklyn North and Upper Manhattan began on October 1, 2026. Businesses in these areas must enter into a contract with a zone-authorized private carter before November 30, 2026, or they will be assigned a carter at the maximum allowable rate.
DSNY is hosting two info sessions about CWZ enrollment from 11 a.m. to noon. The info session on November 5 is in Spanish and the info session on November 19 is in English. For more information, google: DSNY CWZ.
