While DSNY collects trash, recycling, and composting from residential buildings, more than 90 different private carters crisscross the city each night to service the city's 100,000 commercial businesses, driving long, overlapping and unsafe routes.
The Commercial Waste Zone (CWZ) program divides the city into 20 zones, each served by up to three carters selected through a competitive process. Five citywide contracts are also awarded for the collection of containerized waste and compactors. The CWZ program will begin reducing truck traffic associated with commercial waste collection, eliminating millions of heavy-duty truck miles from NYC streets every year, while strengthening service standards and allowing for customer choice.
The first Commercial Waste Zone rolled out on January 2, 2025, in Central Queens.
DSNY released a CWZ Implementation Plan in November 2018, laying out a blueprint for the implementation of commercial waste collection zones across New York City.
The Commercial Waste Zones plan built on the 2016 Private Carting Study and provided the City’s recommended framework to move forward with the reforms.
DSNY must report annually on the progress of the Commercial Waste Zone program's implementation, including disaggregated data by zone and awardee.
On November 20, 2019, LL199 of 2019 requiring the establishment of Commercial Waste Zones throughout New York City was signed into law. The result of years of planning, analysis, and stakeholder engagement by DSNY, the CWZ program aims to create a safe and efficient commercial waste collection system while providing high-quality, low-cost service to NYC businesses.