LabelYourCan is a project of Primo Cans, the Brooklyn shop that prints address labels for NYC bins. Not a government site.
LabelYourCan A label that outlasts the route

NYC bin labeling, done right

Your bin takes a beating. Your label shouldn't.

A garbage can gets hauled to the curb, handled, and left out in rain, sun and road salt, week after week. A bin label has one job: still read clearly from the curb years from now. Here's how to get that right - and what the city actually requires.

Get your label

Checked against NYC & DSNY sources · Last checked November 5, 2026

Why the label matters more than the marker

Identical bins on every block

Every bin on the street looks the same, and empties get set back down in a row - or blown half a block. The readable address is what separates "my bin" from "a bin."

Weather erases cheap markings

Permanent marker fades in a season of sun. Paint chalks and peels. A printed vinyl label with UV laminate is built for exactly this: sun, rain, salt, and the occasional scrub.

Some labeling is required

Recycling and compost bins must be labeled to be collected, and larger buildings have to keep waste areas labeled and signed. The details are in rules vs myths.

The label

Printed for your address, built for the curb

House number big, street name small, black on white - sized for the address space the city builds into every official NYC Bin. Peel-and-stick vinyl with a UV laminate, designed to last 5+ years outdoors. Add the small 1x4 labels to the lid and sides, and the bin reads as yours from every angle, even buried in a row of identical ones.

Printed to order in Brooklyn by Primo Cans, the shop behind this site.

See the labels

Putting it on takes about a minute

  1. Wipe the panel with rubbing alcohol and let it dry completely.
  2. Peel the backing off the label.
  3. Position it on the bin's address space.
  4. Press hard from the center outward for about 30 seconds.

The full walkthrough, including the lid and side labels: how to label your bin.

Also worth two minutes

What does the city actually require?

Less than most people think - and more, in two specific cases. Rules vs myths

Photograph your bin's serial number

Every official NYC Bin has one. It's your proof of ownership if the bin ever walks. Our sibling site NumberCan explains why.

Need the rules themselves?

Deadlines, fines, and how to get an official bin, in plain English: cans.nyc.