Clear Versus Opaque Liners in NYC: Why the Rules Point Both Ways

New York City requires clear bags for commercial recyclables and opaque bags for general refuse. Facility managers routinely get this backwards. How the two requirements fit together and what to stock for each stream.

There is a rule that catches out more New York City facility managers than almost any other, and it catches them out precisely because it sounds contradictory. Recyclables must go out in clear bags. General refuse must go out in opaque ones. Both are requirements, they apply to the same building on the same night, and getting either one wrong is a violation. Put plainly: the city wants to see inside your recycling and not see inside your garbage. Once you understand why, the rest of the specific...

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