What BIC does
The Business Integrity Commission is the NYC agency that licenses and regulates commercial trade waste and public wholesale markets. It was created specifically to clean up trade waste industries that had historical organized crime ties. BIC vets every trade waste company and individual operator before issuing a license.
Why it matters for your business
Two reasons:
- Legal requirement. Any hauler you hire must hold a valid BIC trade waste license. Hiring an unlicensed carter is a violation regardless of what you paid or how reliable the service is.
- Record check. BIC publishes each carter's licensing history, safety record, and any disciplinary actions. The Comptroller's 2025 review flagged safety, labor, and environmental violation histories across multiple awardees in the new Commercial Waste Zone program. Pull your carter's record before you sign.
How BIC licensing relates to CWZ
CWZ-authorized carters are a subset of BIC-licensed carters. Every authorized carter for a Commercial Waste Zone must be BIC-licensed, but not every BIC-licensed carter is authorized for every zone. Once your zone activates, the overlap between "BIC-licensed" and "allowed to serve you" shrinks to just the 3 authorized carters for your specific zone.
How to verify a carter's license
Use the BIC Trade Waste Database. Search by company name or license number. Each entry shows:
- License number and current status
- Owner and officer names
- License expiration date
- Any pending or resolved disciplinary actions
If a sales rep cannot produce their company's BIC license number on request, that is a red flag.