Designing Waste Containerization into Streetscapes

Since the release of the Zero Waste Design Guidelines in 2017, we have advocated for and collaborated with the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) on waste containerization as a strategy to eliminate the blight of garbage bags on city sidewalks. Our 2021 Put Waste To Work campaign with WXY called on the incoming Adams Administration to adopt a holistic approach to solving NYC’s immense waste problems. We are encouraged by DSNY's containerization plans (mandated for commercial waste as well as residential waste from 1–9 unit buildings from Fall 2024, and being piloted for large buildings in West Harlem in 2025), and believe additional opportunities should be explored to maximize benefits.

The Center for Zero Waste Design (CfZWD), in partnership with the Alliance for Public Space Leadership, is hosting a panel discussing DSNY’s new regulations and their impacts on NYC’s sidewalks and streetscapes. Come and hear public space advocates, urban designers, policymakers and building managers discuss both DSNY’s approach and the CfZWD’s proposed alternatives, outlined in its just-released containerization report. The report is the result of years of field research, gathering best practices from cities worldwide as well as analyses of New York City’s architectural and urban conditions. Learn how waste containerization can keep sidewalks clear, make better use of curb space, improve labor for building staff and waste haulers, and incentivize waste reduction.

Speakers:
Steven Lovci, AIA, Vice President, Capital Projects and Construction, Phipps Houses
Martin Robertson, Facilities Manager, Oro Condominium
Adam Lubinsky, PhD, AICP, Partner, WXY

Moderator:
Clare Miflin, AIA, Founder and Executive Director, Center for Zero Waste Design

About the Speakers:
Martin Robertson is an accomplished Facilities Manager for the Oro Condominium and a committed advocate for sustainability in building management. Awarded the prestigious Building Service Worker Award for Green Worker of the Year in 2023, Robertson's career reflects his passion for educating others on the essential elements necessary for a sustainable tomorrow. As an instructor for the 32BJ Union, Robertson teaches BPI-certified courses, including the Multi-Family Building Operator (MFBO), Multi-Family Building Analyst (MFBA), and Urban Green certified GPro Operations and Maintenance (GPRO O&M). He has also been a guest speaker at NESEA’s 2022 Building Energy Conference. In addition to his instructional roles, Robertson has been interviewed for a thought-provoking New York Times article that shed light on the complexities of trash collection in New York City. He has been featured in Habitat Magazine and Urban Omnibus for his innovative approach to Facilities and Resident Management in luxury condominiums. Furthermore, Robertson has served as a member of the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board (MSWAB), contributing his expertise to improve waste management strategies in the community.

Adam Lubinsky is a Partner at WXY, an award-winning architecture and planning firm based in New York City. Lubinsky brings an interdisciplinary approach to urbanism and the public realm. Trained as an architect with a Ph.D. in planning, he has a particular focus on strategic frameworks, master plans, and feasibility studies for public, private, and institutional projects. Over his career of two decades in the US and UK, Lubinsky has utilized community engagement, data analysis and design to re-conceive how neighborhoods and cities change. Lubinsky is also an Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and the Interim Director of the M.Sc. Program in Real Estate Development.

Clare Miflin, AIA, is the founder and executive director of the non-profit Center for Zero Waste Design, and principal of the design consultancy ThinkWoven, both of which emerged from the development of the Zero Waste Design Guidelines in 2017. Through grant-funded research as well as design consulting work, Miflin’s goal is to support designers, communities and policymakers by making zero waste strategies accessible and actionable, to improve buildings, neighborhoods and cities. Positing waste as a design flaw, Miflin works to deepen the knowledge and further the reach of the Guidelines, envisioning a future without garbage, where urban systems are woven into ecosystems. Miflin is certified as an architect, passive house designer and biomimicry professional, and LEED accredited. She is actively involved in the AIANY Committee on the Environment, Alliance for Public Space Leadership and Save our Compost Coalition.