Garbage Chutes
Description
- A garbage chute system is a long vertical space that has size ranging from 24 to 32 inches, passing by each floor in a building. It includes a door on each floor where residents can dispose of their garbage into the chute. Current building code requires that this door is contained in a small room on each floor. In older buildings, the door is accessed directly from the corridor. In older buildings, chute is a masonry shaft rather than a steel tube. Garbage placed in the chute drops to a compactor in a room at the bottom located in the cellar or ground floor.
- Projects in this scope area may include installing new stainless-steel chutes or chute doors. The full, detailed scope of work for this project including any additional work areas will be updated here after alignment with project stakeholders through scoping and design activities.
Baseline
- Use appropriate self-closing, fire-rated chute doors to maintain a fire-rated enclosure and reduce chances of fire-spreading between floors.
- Install sprinkler nozzles in the compactor hopper and transition chute areas.
- Replace hopper doors as large as possible (follow fire code requirements for maximum area, preferably able to fit a standard 13-gallon kitchen trash bag) and include back pan to prevent larger objects from entering chutes. [COMPMOD] [WM]
Stretch
- Convert existing masonry incinerator chutes to steel waste chutes with sprinklers to code.
- Provide chute access room with the space for bins to separate waste at the apartment floor level into recycling, trash, and compost.
- Refinish area around hopper door with durable materials that are easy to clean and maintain.
- Centralized locking and unlocking of hopper doors.
Relevant Codes & Regulations
NYC Building Code — Refuse Chutes
Construction, enclosure, and access requirements
NYC Fire Code — Chute Fire Protection
Sprinkler, fire damper, and smoke control requirements
NYC DOHMH — Garbage Handling Regulations
Sanitation and public health requirements for refuse systems
OSHA — Fire & Maintenance Safety
Worker safety during chute maintenance and cleaning
Strategies
Optimize Performance, Operation & Maintenance of Buildings, Systems & Assets
Last Updated on June 30, 2026 at 10:06 am
Downloads and Data
Specifications
CPDDESIGN2016002 - Compactor Stacks_Refuse Chutes_151026
CPDDESIGN2016007 - Rehab_Alteration_of_Existing_Active _Masonry_Chimneys
Compactor stack condition
Details
S-DT_compactor stack_NYCHA STD DETAILS
S-DT_COMPACTOR STACK
S-DT_S011-compactor stack
S-DT_150709 S012
S-DT_S011 060222
A-DT_150709 A011