Drones used for busting barricaded suspects and teen subway surfers could one day monitor New Yorkers’ garbage, too.
The city Department of Sanitation is considering whether to enlist a fleet of drones to help it enforce new trash rules and perform inspections alongside its human inspectors on the ground.
“This is extremely preliminary – really just in the early planning stages,” a DSNY spokesperson told The Post. “But we are investigating whether this technology may be useful for things like building maintenance inspections or for enforcement of basic cleanliness rules.”
Buildings with one to nine residential units have been forced to put out their trash into any container since November under new city regulations.
But the department has already issued thousands of summonses to property owners who allegedly failed to comply.
Drones could be used to scour for illegal dumping acts and help spot people leaving trash bins out earlier than permitted.
They could also help inspect agency vehicles, patrol for abandoned cars and aid in snowplowing, Gothamist first reported.
But when asked about any safeguards pertaining to residents’ privacy and drone use, the DHS rep said “it’s really just too soon” to tell.
“Nothing to say beyond that we are looking into it,” a rep added, “as we look into any technology or methodology that may help give New Yorkers the clean streets they expect and deserve.”
The effort would be the latest in a citywide expansion of drone uses in recent years, involving agencies ranging from the NYPD and FDNY to the Department of Parks & Recreation.
The NYPD has used drones for years during protests, barricaded suspect situations and, most recently, to nab teen subway surfers.
Drones have also been used in incidents with hazardous materials, performed watchdog operations at “shootings or large-scale events” and even serves as a first responder, according to police records.
The city even used drones last summer to warn residents in multiple languages over severe weather — which prompted emergency management officials to apologize after a hard-to-understand Spanish translation was broadcast.
The FDNY has used drones to help put out fires – such as a large brush fire in Inwood last November – and the parks department has employed the flying robots to help keep an eye out for sharks and drowning swimmers.
DSNY already has a network of over 200 surveillance cameras used to find and hand out fines to dumpers.
In one instance in 2023, a pair of “crooks” in the Bronx had their car impounded and was handed a $4,000 summons after illegally dumping in Soundview.
In 2024, the sanitation department issued $1.5 million in fines for illegal dumping alone, Gothamist reported.
The DSNY isn’t the only agency looking at enforcing trash rules with drones.
According to a 2023 solid waste management plan, the state Department of Environmental Conservation noted its goal to “increase the use of drones and other new technologies to assess facility performance.”
