Overview
- The City Council, which introduced the SCOOP Act on Friday, proposed bag dispensers at every public litter basket, new signs, a dog-run compost pilot, and cleanups when three 311 complaints hit a block.
- A new Manhattan borough study counted nearly 1,700 dog‑waste 311 complaints since January 2024 and found February 2026 set a record with 308 in one month.
- Officials reported a 35% rise in early 2026 complaints compared with a year earlier, citing snow and ice melt that exposed uncollected waste.
- Only 25 bag dispensers remain in service across Manhattan, down from about 200 in 2018, and neighborhoods with fewer trash cans saw higher complaint rates, with Washington Heights/Inwood logging rates 17.3 times higher than downtown.
- Leaving dog waste is already illegal, but enforcement has been rare, so the package promotes a community Scoop Patrol for cleanups and allows fines up to $250 when owners ignore warnings.