New large residential buildings in New York City must submit building waste management plans for city approval. We work with design teams and developers to ensure that buildings are designed to allow for the easy separation and storage of recyclable and organic waste, and to improve working conditions for staff.

Since April 2022, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) of New York City has required that new residential developments with over 150 units submit a waste management plan for approval by DSNY alongside their submission to the Department of Buildings. Our team works with the architects and developers to provide recommendations for various residential typologies, including affordable housing, market-rate housing, mixed-use developments with commercial retail, and adaptive reuse developments. 

Waste management plans must outline locations intended for storing residential waste and protocols for DSNY to collect waste, either through the use of roll-off containers or by setting out on sidewalks for curbside collection. We analyze whether roll-off containers, which require 25’ headroom and 60’ depth, can be accommodated within the building design, and if not we work to design alternate recommendations to reduce the volume of waste and area required for curbside collection. We lead the process of presenting the plans to DSNY and securing approval.

Our recommendations work towards increasing waste diversion through the application of design strategies which make it easier for residents to separate their waste. Our plans also ease operations for staff, taking into consideration whether recycling and organic waste is best moved by chutes or in elevators, and how volume reduction equipment, such as cardboard balers or for pretreating food waste, might reduce the need for handling and storage. Moreover, we consider future changes in waste collection currently planned by DSNY, such as mandatory organics collection and waste containerization.