It’s shocking, but New Yorkers only recycle just under a fifth of their trash, according to the New York City Department of Sanitation. The unfortunate truth is the recycling system in the U.S. is broken. The problems are so engrained and far reaching that it’s difficult to know where to begin—a host of factors contribute to the system’s ineptitude, the issues festering like a bloom of mold in a contaminated bin of improperly rinsed plastic containers.

It’s difficult to battle the feelings of hopelessness that can arise from dealing with such a flawed system—often, it can feel like cutting off one head of a hydra (or perhaps a giant trash monster), only to have another spout in its place. While it’s undeniable that the recycling system in the U.S. has deep-rooted problems, there remains a myriad of environmental benefits to continue recycling.

Over the coming months, we will dissect the intricacies of the recycling ecosystem, from systemic challenges to actionable steps you can take today. In this article, we’ll focus on the key things you can do as the consumer to properly recycle in New York City, and tips on how to make your recycling more efficient.

1. Recycling is the Law in New York City

If your building has more than four units and your landlord doesn’t have clearly marked recycling bins, you can report the infraction to NYC 311 online, along with institutions that don’t provide adequate storage for recycling. Before your scheduled recycling day, your building should set out bins with secured lids curbside between 6pm and 12am, or you can set out your bags between 8pm and 12am. It’s key to use clear plastic bags, as recyclables in other receptacles like black trash bags won’t be accepted. If your collection day falls on a holiday, your recyclables will be collected on your usual day the next week. You can look up the collection day for your address on the New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY)’s website.

After you pile up your recycling and send it off, it goes to a sorting facility where it can become problematic if it’s contaminated, whether it’s from food residue or items that are unrecyclable. If a batch of recyclables becomes compromised, it will get sent to the landfill. It’s key to properly rinse your plastics, avoid recycling food-stained items such as pizza boxes, and to recycle in clearly labeled bins, or clear bags to avoid fines.

2. Properly Sorting Your Recyclables and Avoiding “Wish-Cycling”

Speaking of what can’t be recycled, it’s crucial to avoid “wish-cycling”, the act of hopefully adding unrecyclable items to your carefully sorted bins. Your good intentions might end up contaminating your recyclables, leading to a worse outcome for the environment.

One simple way to ensure that you’re recycling goods properly is to take advantage of the New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY)’s free resources online. You can order a variety of signs, stickers, and decals for free, with specialized signs covering everything from residential to business to schools. You can order most of these informational materials in a variety of languages—the most basic, “How to Recycle” flyer can be ordered in Chinese, English, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. It details the specifics of what kind of paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, glass, and cartons can be recycled, along with what can’t, such as batteries, plastic bags, foam, soiled paper, and more.

The informational material from the DSNY is an important starting resource, but if you have remaining questions on what can and can’t be recycled, you can visit the DSNY’s “How to Get Rid Of” page, where you can look up how to properly dispose of everything from chopsticks to credit cards.

Residential recycling signs in New York City. Credit: Tyler Taba

3. The Importance of Composting

Recycling and composting go hand-in-hand when it comes to avoiding the environmental impact of your waste. Nationally, about a third of all waste comes from food scraps, which when sent to landfills can emit harmful greenhouse gases. Composting is a clear-cut way to combat such emissions, which can reduce the impacts of climate change. In New York City, landfills are the third leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite recent cuts to community composting programs (which was followed by a partial restoration), the DSNY has plans to implement a citywide rollout of curbside composting in all five boroughs by October 2024. Currently, curbside composting is functioning in the entirety of Queens and Brooklyn, and select areas of the Bronx and Manhattan. Until the launch of the program, you can find a drop-off composting site near you.

4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse

The slogan “reduce, reuse, recycle” has been an active part of our culture since it was introduced in the 1970’s amid the environmental consciousness upheaval that gave us Earth Day. Recently, some environmental advocates have been adding a fourth ‘R’ to the saying: refuse. According to the New York Times, manufacturers can print the recycling logo on “just about any product” because the logo (with the little number stamped inside) is really to delineate what kind of plastic it’s made from—and most recycling programs only accept items marked 1 and 2.

There are several easy ways you can begin to implement ‘refuse’ into your daily life, among the top being refusing plastic utensils when ordering carryout, getting a reuseable water bottle rather than buying packs of single use plastic bottles, and choosing products that come in non-plastic packaging. You can even do things like using sustainable cloths for birthday presents instead of single use wrapping paper. If you can, refusing to buy fast fashion, or buying less of it, can also make an impact, as the production of fast fashion yields harmful emissions that contribute to climate change. When you need to retire unusable clothes, don’t throw them away—you can enroll with the DSNY for their refashionNYC program and they’ll deliver a textile recycling bin to your building, or you can drop them off at a Wearable Collections pick up site. Exercising your right to refuse extra packaging and plastic, and reusing what you do have, can have an impact that perhaps goes even further than recycling.

It’s undeniable that the original slogan, and its addition, put the responsibility on the consumer, when in reality, we need to enact widespread reforms for production and recycling that hold corporations responsible for their hefty part in contributing to this global problem. Until then, we can each take small steps to help ease the mental burden of our impact on the planet, whether it’s recycling, composting, or using less plastic.

Stay tuned for the next article in this series, where we’ll take a deep dive into the issues the U.S. recycling system faces, and policy reforms that are actively making a difference!