New York City proposes requiring trash cans for restaurants

New York City plans to order restaurants and bodegas to set out their trash in trash cans instead of bags, as the city continues its fight against rats.

The new rule proposed by the New York City Department of Sanitation on Thursday is an effort to “reduce food sources for rats,” the department said in its proposal. The rule could apply to around 40,000 food businesses in the city, according to the city’s sanitation commissioner, Jessica Tisch, who said in an interview with the New York Times it would cover “everything from Dunkin’ Donuts to Tavern on the Green.”

Under current rules, restaurants are allowed to place trash in bags outside until it is hauled away before the next business day. But Tisch said to the Times that this only attracts more rats, which have been a lingering problem in the city.

“We want people to understand that bags on the street attract rats, and we need everyone to do their part — residents, businesses and the city — to get the black bags of rat food off the streets,” Tisch said.

The proposed rule said the businesses would have to place the trash in “rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids.”

The new proposal comes after New York City Mayor Eric Adams named Kathleen Corradi as the city’s new rat czar last month, tasked with getting control of the rat problem. Corradi has placed an emphasis on the need to get rid of waste from the streets.

It is also part of a large-scale containerization effort announced by Adams earlier this month, with the city saying it was possible to use trash containers on nearly 90 percent of streets.