NYC Department of Sanitation

What NYC Department of Sanitation does

NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the municipal agency of the City of New York responsible for solid waste collection, recycling, composting, street cleaning, and snow removal across all five boroughs. Established in 1881 and operating under the Mayor's Office, it serves the full population of New York City — residents, businesses, and visitors — with no direct charge for services. The agency maintains a workforce of 5,001-10,000 employees and operates a physical fleet and depot network sized to handle citywide collection routes and seasonal weather response.

DSNY's service portfolio is delivered through municipal field operations rather than commercial products or technology platforms. There is no documented proprietary technology stack, software product, or app offering in the source material. Service requests and information flow through NYC's official 311 portal, the NYC.gov website, and the NotifyNYC emergency notification system. DSNY also lacks any listed AI/ML modalities, integrations, patents, or API offerings.

The business model is government-funded: DSNY does not generate commercial revenue. Its operations are financed through the NYC municipal budget, which is set annually by the Mayor and City Council. There are no external investors, shareholders, or M&A activity, and the agency is wholly owned by the City of New York. Customer concentration is structurally low because the "customer" base is the entire city. The agency has no listed awards, partnerships, subsidiaries, or management team beyond Robin Perez, Director.

Name

NYC Department of Sanitation

Legal name

NYC Department of Sanitation

Website

https://www1.nyc.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1881

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the municipal agency of New York City responsible for waste collection, recycling, composting, street cleaning, and snow removal across all five boroughs, serving all residents and businesses with a 5,001-10,000 person workforce funded through the city budget.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Sanitation Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (5621), Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (924110)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Works / In-House Municipal Collection Operations (EUAIAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Curbside MSW Collection (BPALAAAA), Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF)

Keywords

• Municipal waste collection
• Recycling collection services
• Snow removal services
• Street cleaning services
• Composting services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: Government service funded through municipal tax revenue and city budget allocations. Services are provided free of direct charge to residents as a public utility.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the municipal agency responsible for garbage collection, recycling collection, composting, street cleaning, and snow removal across all five boroughs of New York City. The agency also enforces sanitation codes and operates as the sole citywide provider of residential and commercial waste management services, funded through the City of New York's municipal budget.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Garbage / Trash Collection
• Recycling Collection
• Composting / Organics Collection
• Street Cleaning
• Snow Removal
• Sanitation Code Enforcement

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• DC Department of Public Works: Washington, DC's combined public works and sanitation agency responsible for solid waste collection, snow removal, and street services within a single municipal jurisdiction.
• Boston Public Works Department: Municipal public works agency running curbside trash and recycling collection plus snow operations for the City of Boston, providing a direct in-house operational comparison.
• Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation: City of Chicago agency delivering garbage collection, recycling, street cleaning, and snow removal — a near-exact functional parallel to DSNY at municipal scale.
• San Francisco Department of Public Works: Operates refuse, recycling, street cleaning, and urban forest services for San Francisco — a municipal agency with comparable scope to DSNY in a dense U.S. city.
• Philadelphia Streets Department (Sanitation Division): Philadelphia's in-house municipal sanitation division handling trash, recycling, and street operations — directly comparable in-house model serving one dense U.S. city.
• Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment (LASAN): Municipal sanitation agency providing solid waste collection, recycling, and street services for the City of Los Angeles — the same core mandate as NYC DSNY but in the second-largest U.S. city.

Broad incumbents

• Republic Services: Major U.S. waste management company offering residential, commercial, recycling, and disposal services — comparable private-sector scale and service breadth.
• Waste Management, Inc. The largest U.S. commercial waste hauler. While not a direct municipal peer, WM is the dominant private-sector comparator for collection, recycling, and landfill services adjacent to DSNY's mandate.

Regional players

• Seattle Public Utilities: Operates solid waste collection, recycling, and composting for the City of Seattle — a comparable municipal utility model outside DSNY's geography.
• Houston Public Works: Combined public works department for the City of Houston handling solid waste and infrastructure — comparable municipal service portfolio in a different U.S. region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NYC Department of Sanitation