Cleaner Streets, Higher Market Appeal? Brooklyn’s Empire Bins Pilot and What It Means for Real Estate

In an effort dubbed the trash revolution, on June 1, 2025, West Harlem (Community Board 9) became the first North American neighborhood to reach 100% trash containerization through the NYC Department of Sanitation Empire Bins initiative. The pilot program kicked off in August of 2023 in Hamilton Heights to combat rodents and promote cleaner streets.

Why Empire Bins?

If you’re a longtime New Yorker or visited the city before, you’ll likely recall heaping piles of trash bags lining city streets. But since March 2024, all businesses had to start using bins—and as of November this past year, all residential buildings with up to nine units had to do the same. This has already helped containerize roughly 70% of the city’s trash.

Who must dump their trash in these bins?

Properties with 31 or more units must use Empire Bins, while those with 10-30 units were given the option to choose between these bins or individual containers. Empire Bins are locked, on-street containers assigned to a specific property, and only that property’s staff and waste managers can access them.

How are the bins collected?

Empire Bins are picked up three times each week by the country’s first automated side-loading truck.

Brooklyn Has Entered the Chat

Following West Harlem’s success, the city announced a new pilot program here in Brooklyn on September 16 of this year, with the Empire Bins installed at Fort Greene and Clinton Hill schools this fall. Next year, the initiative is set to expand to all schools and high-density residential buildings in the district.

How could this impact Brooklyn homeowners?

While Empire Bins don’t apply to single-family homes, whose owners already use smaller individual containers, the citywide push for trash containerization is likely to have positive ripple effects. Cleaner sidewalks can make daily life feel a bit more pleasant and contribute to the overall upkeep and presentation of a block—factors that can subtly influence property perception and long-term value across Brooklyn’s residential markets.

The initiative is also expected to improve street cleanliness, reduce rats and rodents attracted to trash bags left on sidewalks, and make waste collection cleaner, more efficient and potentially safer. The primary drawback is the potential loss of some street parking spaces.

The Bottom Line

As Empire Bins expand beyond pilot neighborhoods, the program marks another step in NYC’s effort to modernize waste management and improve quality of life. For Brooklyn residents, it’s a glimpse of how thoughtful infrastructure changes can shape the everyday experience of living here.