Waste reduction efforts are entering a new phase this week, as the city's sanitation agency begins enforcing mandatory composting laws

New York City’s waste reduction efforts will commence a new phase on Tuesday, as the city’s sanitation agency will begin enforcing a law-mandated composting program with fines. Starting April 1, residents will have to separate food waste from trash or risk receiving a $25 fine from the Department of Sanitation.

According to the DSNY, sanitation supervisors may open and investigate trash bags to ensure that food waste is not being mixed with trash.

New York City will begin enforcing fines for non-compliance with its citywide composting law — and landlords are already speaking out. Under the new rules, food scraps and soiled paper must be separated into compost bins.

The compost must be placed in a separate bin and will be picked up weekly on residents’ regular recycling day. In an effort to make composting easier, homeowners are permitted to use certain plastic bags inside their compost bins,

While city residents wait for the outcome of that legislative push, they’ll need to begin composting to avoid fines. Here’s what they should know: Official New York City compost programs date back to at least the 1990s when the city launched a series of organic waste projects,