DSNY proposes to amend rules for CWZ implementation schedule

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is proposing to remove the April 1 implementation start date for the Queens West Commercial Waste Zone (CWZ) and add the implementation schedule for the Midtown South and Staten Island CWZs. 

In 2019, the city enacted Local Law 199, which required the establishment of a new program for commercial waste collection. The CWZ program is a collection system that divides the city into zones with a small number of private haulers authorized to operate in each zone, which is designed to provide high-quality service to the city’s businesses while advancing its waste diversion and sustainability goals. 

NYC is divided into 20 CWZs under the program, and DSNY authorizes three carters—which DSNY refers to as awardees—to operate in each zone.  

Under the program, anyone who currently has waste collected by a private carter must enter a new written service agreement or contract with one of the carters authorized to collect from the zone. The new contract must have a start date that is on or after that zone’s implementation start date.   

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The department says one of the three awardees in the Queens West zone, Tully Waste Services, is withdrawing from the CWZ program. Because of this, DSNY is holding implementation of this zone until a new carter can be awarded. Queens West will be implemented at a later date. 

“While we cannot announce a specific plan for the third award at this time, we have previously stated that all vacancies will be filled either by the next available responsive bidder or by a new procurement process,” DSNY says. 

The Department previously set the implementation start and end dates for the following CWZs: Queens Central, Bronx East, Bronx West, Queens Northeast, Brooklyn South, Queens West and Lower Manhattan. In addition to removing the Queens West zone implementation schedule, the proposed rule would set the implementation schedule for the next two zones: Midtown South and Staten Island.  

For the Queens West zone, the original start date was set for April 1, with a final date of May 31. The proposed rule would set the implementation date for the Midtown South and Staten Island zones as July 1, with a final implementation date of Aug. 31. 

The department also is proposing to create an application process for infrequent generators of commercial waste, replacing the proposed rule published Jan. 13. 

DSNY will hold a public hearing for the proposed rule March 5, replacing the hearing previously scheduled for Feb. 18.