Garbage disposal (new home, food, design)

[sam007]

folks

new home owners here. In the 5 boroughs, is it possible to simply place one trash can outside with 2 bags - one for regular garbage and another clear bag with recyclable or will I get a ticket for doing so?

If not, can one simply keep a clear recyclable on the ground instead of in a trash can?


Thanks

[a l'ouest]

We put our trash out in bags, not cans, and we haven't had a problem so I'm guessing it's ok.

[DSNY...DirtyStayOut]

If you can avoid cans, we greatly appreciate it. Ask any sanman and they will vote for bags every time. Black bags for garbage, clear bags for paper, and clear for metal/glass/plastic.

[BrightRabbit]

^best explanation for newness, ever. Thank you. The website makes it so complicated it's hard to get started.

OP - you really need to do a 3-way sort, as DSNY says here. What you wrote has only one clear bag that combined paper with the other recyclables (metal/glass/plastic), so that could become a ticket. And don't sneak -- if the san-man picks up your black bag and hears bottles clinking in there, oops, a ticket.

Easiest for me was to start the 3-way sort inside the home. Rinse metal/ glass/rigid plastic items as they happen, so you can accumulate them without food attractions in your kitchen (pests). Paper doesn't attract anything, so it can wait all week.

Then all you need is a small closed metal can in the kitchen for food waste, plus another container or two anywhere in the house to hang onto recylables all week. I now prefer to take little white food-waste bags outside all week, tied closed, and pop them into an outdoor lidded trashcan that's waiting with a heavy-duty black liner to hold all those. That reduces kitchen odors.

[SanMan2k5]

If you put everything in one garbage can you can and will get a ticket. You need to sort everything into 3 categories already mentioned. Yes everything in bags is preferable, but if not then you need 3 different cans clearly marked for their designated purpose.