1895: New York City's Department of Sanitation (DSNY) mandates recycling for the first time. (Previously 75 percent of the city's waste had been dumped into the Atlantic Ocean.) Department of Sanitation Commissioner George Waring stopped ocean dumping and instituted a waste-management plan requiring that household wastes be separated into three categories: food waste, which was recycled into soap products and fertilizer; rubbish, from which paper and other reusable materials were salvaged; and ash, which ended up in landfills.
1918: World War I puts an end to recycling and reinstates ocean dumping as the Sanitation Department builds up the number of landfills and incinerators. Over the next 20 years, the city will build and operate 22 incinerators and 89 landfills.
1960- : DSNY works to reduce the number of incinerators and landfills.
1986: Recycling is introduced as a voluntary program.
1989: Recycling becomes mandatory.
2001-2004: The recycling program faced cuts once again following the September 11, 2001 attacks, and collection of glass and plastic is suspended between July 2002 and April 2004.
2008: DSNY signs a long-term contract with Sims Municipal Recycling of New York that includes plans to construct a state-of-the-art recycling facility at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
2013: With the 2013 Recycle Everything campaign, the city hopes to double the amount of waste recycled to 30 percent by 2017.
SOURCE: https://www.recyclereminders.com/blog/recycling-guides/a-guide-to-recycling-in-new-york-city/