New York, NY Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)

Department of Sanitation rule 16 RCNY § 1-01 defines bulk metal as metal items "too heavy or large to lift or fit into recycling containers, including large metal appliances," and bulk plastic the same way for rigid plastic items. Both are designated recyclable materials under Administrative Code § 16-307, alongside metal cans, glass and aluminum foil. Because these items don't fit inside a standard bin, § 1-08(h)(1) of the same rules chapter splits set-out into two tracks. Buildings on curbside recycling service place bulk metal and bulk plastic directly beside, not inside, the metal/glass/plastic containers on the day the Commissioner has scheduled for that district's recycling pickup; the container and plastic-bag specifications that apply to everything else in the load don't apply to the bulk pieces themselves.

Buildings on mechanized collection, the compactor-and-bin system used in many larger developments, get no curb option: an owner, net lessee or person-in-charge has to phone the local Sanitation district garage directly to arrange a separate pickup for bulk metal and bulk plastic. ), so it binds every residential, mixed-use and institutional building that receives Department collection, not just single-family homes. Skipping either track, mixing bulk metal or plastic into an ordinary recycling bag, or leaving it at the curb on the wrong day, is treated as a source-separation violation of the same recycling law and enforced the same way as any other missorted recycling set-out.