City Draws Back on Monetary Fines Just Three Weeks into Curbside Composting

Food scrap fines are being scraped at least temporarily for many users.

After only three weeks of issuing fines to those who violate curbside composting, the Adams administration is retracting the monetary penalty for smaller buildings.

NYC Curbside Composting, which entails separating compostable material from trash, has been mandated since October. However, the fines that accompanied it only started to take effect on April 1.

“Since April 1, we have issued roughly 4,000 summonses to property owners who mixed trash with compostable material,” Vincent Gragnani, a DNSY spokesperson, told Straus News.

As of last week, Gragnani explained that the summonses had led to a 240 percent increase in compostable material kept out of landfill, which suggests that the threat of fines were effective.

Despite such success, the administration has announced an update to the mandate, stating that, “Summonses will only be issued to buildings with 30 or more units that are also identified as repeat offenders.”

Gragnani told Straus News that while the parameters of the mandate have changed, this should not be considered a pause.

“We will continue to [issue summonses] for owners of large buildings who consistently break this law,” he said. “Given that summonsing will continue for some buildings, it is not accurate to call this a ‘pause’.”

When asked about those who were fined prior to the update, Gragnani said that like all summonses, fined property owners can contest their violations.

“Anyone who receives a summons can attend their OATH hearing and ask for it to be dismissed,” he said.

According to Hell Gate, which first broke the story, Randy Mastro, Adam’s new top deputy, is behind the modification. According to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, Mastro wanted to pause the fines all together, but landed at a compromise to fine larger buildings, but only after four warnings.

The mayor’s office released a statement clarifying that just because fines won’t be as frequent, composting is still required in NYC.

“Make no mistake: Composting continues to be mandatory in New York City,” it read. The statement also goes on to ensure that participation will be encouraged through more outreach and education initiatives, particularly for repeat offenders.

However, many who want to see NYC make sustainable progress are weary of the change in enforcement. According to the Gothamist, City Councilmember Shahana Hanif is highly critical of the move.

“Rather than support these efforts, the Administration has undercut them,” she said. “This constantly shifting guidance undermines public trust, decreases community buy-in, and ultimately threatens the program’s success and long-term cost savings.”

As of now, the original mandate held all NYC property owners accountable is set to resume in 2026. The exact date has not been released.