The New York commercial waste market has long been one of the most complex in the United States, with increasing public and regulatory pressure in recent years. Senior Editor Cole Rosengren got his start on the trash beat in the early days of a reform campaign led by labor and environmental groups in the city. He first covered the commercial waste zone debate for City Limits, in the spring and fall of 2015, before joining the Waste Dive team in 2016.
We've run dozens of stories on the twists and turns in the years since, including an in-depth feature on the local market, ahead of the New York City Council's historic vote to approve a zone system on Oct. 30. Last fall, we collected the most important stories, including a feature on the oft-cited Los Angeles franchise system, to help understand what's happened so far. Most recently, we first reported that implementation timing for the bidding process for this new system has been delayed by months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
