NEW YORK (PIX11) --- The New York City Council introduced a new bill Thursday to make composting voluntary after some backlash from angry New Yorkers, officials said.
The bill, sponsored by the Common Sense Caucus, seeks to overturn the Department of Sanitation's mandatory composting rules. The bill would give residents the choice to participate in the new recycling program.
The regulations went into effect in October, but the city started enforcing them on April 1.
The city has already issued around 2,000 fines, according to NYC Councilwoman Joann Ariola, one of the bill's sponsors along with David Carr, Vickie Paladino, Inna Vernikov, Susan Zhuang, Robert F. Holden, and Kristy Marmorato.
"It's crazy -- if that doesn’t scream money grab," Ariola said, who represents District 32.
The violations come with a $25 fine for first offenses and increasing fines up to $300 for failure to compost properly.
One of her constituents, a senior citizen on a fixed income, called about a fine that she now has to fight. But she's not the only one.
Ariola said council members across the five boroughs have received tons of phones calls complaining about the compost regulations.
"This has support across the aisle, and I expect it to pass pretty quickly," the councilwoman said.
New Yorkers are expected to separate compostables from trash, including leaf and yard waste, food scraps, prepared and cooked foods, used paper goods and pizza boxes.
The city collected 2.5 million pounds of compostables that would have otherwise gone to landfill, according to DSNY. In just the first week, the city collected 240% more compostable material than the year before.
“This works,” said a spokesperson for DSNY.
For more information on composting rules, click here.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.
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