Elected Officials, Labor & Environmental Groups Rally for Action on Life-Saving Commercial Waste Zones law

For Immediate Release: April 23, 2025
Contact: Lisa Thomas, 347-415-6431, lisa@alignny.org
Download photos and full video

No More Delays: Elected Officials, Labor, & Environmental
Groups Demand Answers on Stalled Commercial Waste Zones Law

Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition calls on Mayor Adams and DSNY to deliver on the promise of clean air, good jobs, and safe streets


Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition

New York, NY – Today, elected officials, labor and environmental justice groups, and safe streets advocates rallied at City Hall to demand an accelerated timeline for Commercial Waste Zones (Local Law 199), with just one of 20 zones enacted since the law was passed six years ago. As the federal government undermines climate and environmental protections, New York City can make substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and harmful air pollution caused by the sprawling commercial waste system by following local law and expanding the successful Commercial Waste Zones system citywide.

The Commercial Waste Zones (CWZ) law is a historic, nation-leading program that could quickly eliminate more than 18 million unnecessary truck miles annually; reduce, compost, and recycle millions of tons of waste currently being trucked to far-flung landfills and incinerators; create thousands of good hauling, composting, and recycling jobs and mandate labor standards for one of the most dangerous jobs in the country; support more equitable routes to transfer stations which are currently concentrated in overburdened environmental justice communities; and eliminate or sharply reduce dozens of serious crashes resulting in injuries and deaths each year.

The law passed in 2019, but Mayor Adams’ Department of Sanitation (DSNY) rolled out the first of 20 mandated zones six years later in January 2025. After years of advocacy from Transform Don’t Trash NYC and allies, DSNY published their plan for implementation this morning:  two additional zones will be implemented in 2025, with the remaining zones to be rolled out through 2027. The plan did not include specific dates for zones beyond this year, and under this timeline, the law will take a full eight years to be fully implemented.

At today’s rally, New York City Council Member and Sanitation Chair Sean Abreu and former Chairs Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Council Member Sandy Nurse pushed for accelerated implementation, alongside the coalition including members of ALIGN (The Alliance for a Greater New York), New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Teamsters 813, as well as Families for Safe Streets advocate Lauren Pine, a victim of a private waste truck accident.

The Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition, which played a critical role in Commercial Waste Zones’ passage, is calling for an accelerated, citywide rollout of the zoned collection system as delays continue to have devastating consequences for workers, pedestrians, and communities. The coalition also seeks accountability for hauler safety violations, so that unsafe companies are no longer allowed to operate; transparent data on the program’s progress and the complete timeline for the remaining 19 zones; and details on the plan for community equity, including utilizing DSNY-owned marine and rail transfer stations to accept commercial waste.

“The reforms we passed in 2019 are mandates, not recommendations. The Adams Administration must roll out commercial waste zones citywide and finally bring an end to the dangerous, polluting process that is commercial waste collection today. No more delays, no more excuses, just get it done,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who led the passage of Local Law 199 in 2019.

“Transforming our city into a place that creates good green jobs and achieves justice for frontline communities will take the work of all of us. The City Council did its job to push that work forward by passing Local Law 199, setting up 20 Commercial Waste Zones to cut down on truck traffic and waste. Having only one zone up and running in the five years since LL199’s passage is not only shameful but a sign pointing towards Mayor Adams being unserious in following through on our climate laws. We have the law, what’s missing is the determination to stop the delays,” said Council Member Sandy Nurse.

“The commercial waste industry has a history of being irresponsible—and often deadly—when it comes to their environmental, safety, labor, and business practices. It’s been six years since the Council passed legislation to establish the Commercial Waste Zones, yet the Department of Sanitation has only one zone within the new system. Meanwhile, the waste hauling companies, which are contracted through the program, continue to rack up thousands of violations, cause dozens of crashes, and killed numerous workers. New Yorkers waited decades for the City to rein in this industry; it’s time to achieve the transformative outcomes advocates like Transform Don’t Trash have called for,” said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander.

“The Council passed Commercial Waste Zones to address the private carting industry’s long-standing dangers — from reckless driving and excessive truck traffic to harmful emissions and unsafe conditions on our streets. The administration’s continued delays and lack of transparency are unacceptable. Stakeholders have been left in the dark, undermining both the intent and letter of this landmark law. We need clear answers, full transparency, and a firm commitment to implement the laws New Yorkers fought for — not to see them stalled or weakened. Our communities can’t afford to wait,” said Council Member Shaun Abreu, Chair of the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management.

“Commercial Waste Zones are a public safety issue — for workers, for pedestrians, and for our climate,” said Jenille Scott, ALIGN Climate Director. “This law was never meant to be a pilot program, and each day it is delayed gambles the lives and health of New Yorkers. With new federal threats to climate and worker protections at every turn, Mayor Adams’ DSNY has an easy win at hand: finish the job on Commercial Waste Zones for clean air, good jobs, and safe streets.”

“Even as the federal government undermines environmental and worker protections, New York City can really move the needle on climate and good jobs by simply following local law and rapidly expanding the successful commercial waste zones system. Every month of delay is a missed win-win-win opportunity to make our streets safer, our air cleaner, and keep workers safe in the private sanitation industry,” said Justin Wood, Director of Policy at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

“Our waste management system in NYC remains unjust with our community districts representing low-income communities and communities of color handling 75% of all NYC’s private waste,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. “The Commercial Waste Zone Laws were written to address these environmental and quality of life disparities, yet historically overburdened communities are still forced to shoulder the burden of waste transfer sites and waste collection services as we wait for the Department to continue the roll out of the remaining zones.”

“I was crossing the street in the crosswalk with the light, when I was struck and dragged by a dump truck,” said Lauren Pine, a member of Families for Safe Streets. “I was brought to the hospital, and put in a medically induced coma for four days while they tried to save my left leg, but could not due to severe infection, which almost killed me and led to the amputation of my entire left leg, including the femur. Too often, commercial waste vehicles like the one that hit me are traveling unnecessarily long distances over a single night — so the City Council passed Local Law 199 five years ago to create commercial waste zones. We’re still waiting on 95% of the zones, and throughout that time many of these trucks have hit and killed or seriously injured New Yorkers. We can’t afford to wait any longer.”

“Commercial waste zones will save lives and reduce pollution, and we can’t afford to keep waiting,” said Elizabeth Adams, Deputy Executive Director for Public Affairs at Transportation Alternatives. “This is about basic safety — far too many New Yorkers have lost their lives to unsafe private waste trucks. The additional mandated commercial waste zones are a legal mandate, and New York City must move forward on finally implementing Local Law 199. This legislation isn’t a suggestion or a goal — it’s the law, and we need full commercial waste zone reform today.”

“We need Commercial Waste Zones in The Bronx….since yesterday! Our city needs to actually prioritize EJ communities when rolling out these initiatives, ESPECIALLY after waste transfer stations were disproportionately sited and constructed in our borough. We deserve to see our children breathe deeper, our communities look greener, and our local economy better sustained,” said Dior St. Hillaire, Bronx SWAB Chair & Microhauler GreenFeen OrganiX.

“Commercial waste zones have the potential to change the story of waste in New York City, as a step to repair harms from decades of inefficient hauling practices which put the burden on low-income communities of color. At BK ROT, we are eager to see how the zoning can prioritize community-based, circular solutions such as composting food scraps and recycling bottles, while at the same time handling waste that cannot be reclaimed without disproportionate cost to community health, environmental justice, navigable streets, and local economies,” said Nora Tjossem, Executive Director of BK ROT.

Background:

  • NYC businesses rely on hundreds of private waste companies with thousands of trucks to pick up their waste and recycling. It’s an unruly industry with low recycling rates, high truck emissions, poor conditions for workers, unfair siting of waste transfer stations, and lack of oversight.

  • In 2019, the Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition passed the Commercial Waste Zones law or Local Law 199. The law breaks the city into 20 zones for trash collection of a few neighborhoods each, assigned to selected private waste companies. Private haulers are responsible for a zone that spans a few neighborhoods instead of a few boroughs, maximizing efficiency, lowering injury risk, and reducing emissions by cutting the distances trucks travel.

  • Under the law, commercial haulers are required to meet robust environmental and labor standards. In return, private waste employers will benefit from a steady, efficiently located base of customers.

  • When fully implemented, the law will eliminate more than 18 million unnecessary truck miles and cut 2 million tons of emissions per year — the equivalent of removing 1 in 5 cars from NYC streets.

  • In October, the coalition released a new report revealing that five years after the passage of the landmark CWZ Law, private garbage trucks continue to be involved in a large number of serious crashes, resulting in 103 injuries and three fatalities in the last two years.

    • This is comparable to the number and rate of severe crashes in the NYC private sanitation system reported in prior years, demonstrating zero improvement since the law’s passage.

    • The report also found that 61% of the trucks operated by major private sanitation companies were ordered out of service upon inspection, a rate far higher than the national average.

About Transform Don’t Trash NYC
The Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition is dedicated to transforming New York City’s commercial trash industry to reduce waste and pollution, foster clean and healthy communities for all New Yorkers, and create good jobs. Steering committee organizations include ALIGN, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 16, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, Natural Resource Defense Council and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

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