§ 20-20 Service to Customers in a Commercial Waste Zone.
RCNY § 20-20
(a)(1) Each commercial establishment must enter into a written service agreement with a zone awardee selected by the Department for the zone in which the commercial establishment is located, and/or a containerized commercial waste awardee in accordance with subdivision (d) of this section, to provide all commercial waste collection, removal and disposal services for the commercial establishment. All such written service agreements must meet the requirements of 16 RCNY § 20-26 and must be entered into no later than the final implementation date for the zone in which the commercial establishment is located, as set forth in the rules of the Department.
(2)This subdivision does not apply to a commercial establishment registered by the Business Integrity Commission to haul its own commercial waste pursuant to subdivision (b) of § 16-505 of the Administrative Code operating pursuant to the terms of such registration.
(b)A commercial establishment must not enter into an agreement for the collection, removal or disposal of commercial waste with more than one zone awardee selected for the zone in which the commercial establishment is located at the same time under any circumstances.
(c)Commercial establishments that generate twenty gallons of waste or less over a period of seven consecutive days may share containers, provided that all such commercial establishments have an agreement with the same awardee in accordance with this chapter.
(d)In lieu of or in addition to a contract with a zone awardee, a commercial establishment may contract with a containerized commercial waste awardee for the removal of containerized commercial waste, provided that the other requirements of this section have been met. If a commercial establishment's contract with a containerized commercial waste awardee does not cover the entirety of the commercial establishment's commercial waste, the commercial establishment must enter into an agreement with a zone awardee for collection, removal and disposal of the remainder of the commercial establishment's commercial waste, except that such establishment may not contract with more than one zone awardee, as provided in subdivision (b) of this section. Example 1: Bob's Restaurant is located in the zone Bronx East. Bob's Restaurant selects Containerized Carting to perform containerized commercial waste collection services. Containerized Carting receives an award to collect containerized commercial waste citywide and is also selected as a zone awardee for zone Bronx East. If Bob's restaurant uses Containerized Carting for containerized collection services, Bob's restaurant is prohibited from selecting a different Bronx East zone awardee to collect non-containerized commercial waste because Containerized Carting is a zone awardee for zone Bronx East. Example 2: Molly's Restaurant is located in the zone Queens Central. Molly's Restaurant is looking for containerized commercial waste collection services for refuse. None of the zone awardees in zone Queens Central were selected to collect containerized commercial waste citywide. Molly's Restaurant can hire Containerized Carting to provide containerized commercial waste collection service and may choose to select a Queens Central zone carter to provide non-containerized refuse and organics collection.
(e)If an awardee is authorized to operate as a containerized commercial waste awardee and a zone awardee in a given zone, such awardee must follow all requirements applicable to zone awardees set forth in Title 16-B of the Administrative Code and this title with respect to all customers in such zone.
(f)If a commercial establishment fails to enter into a written agreement with a zone awardee selected for the zone in which such commercial establishment is located or a containerized commercial waste awardee in accordance with the requirements of this section by the final implementation date for such zone, the Department will assign a zone carter to such commercial establishment and the processes and terms of service set forth in subdivision (e) of 16 RCNY § 20-26 shall apply unless the assignment is made pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section. The assignment of a particular awardee to a commercial establishment is at the Department’s discretion, and factors that the Department will consider include, but are not limited to, effect on route efficiency, language access needs within such zone, awardee capacity, number of customers already served in the zone, and other factors deemed relevant by the Department.
(g)If a commercial establishment fails to enter into a written agreement with a zone awardee selected for the zone in which such commercial establishment is located or a containerized commercial waste awardee in accordance with the requirements of this section by the final implementation date for such zone, and the Department has determined that the commercial establishment stores its waste in a container that has a capacity of 10 cubic yards or more, the Department may assign a zone awardee or a containerized commercial waste awardee to such commercial establishment for containerized commercial waste collection services. The processes and terms of service set forth in subdivision (e) of 16 RCNY § 20-26 shall apply except that the Department shall determine the required minimum level of service for such commercial establishment. (Added City Record 11/16/2021, eff. 12/16/2021*; amended City Record 4/19/2024, eff. 5/19/2024; amended City Record 3/28/2025, eff. 4/27/2025; amended City Record 10/9/2025, eff. 11/8/2025) * Editor's note: For specific effective date provisions, see the editor's note at 16 RCNY Ch. 20.
