New York lags far behind many other cities when it comes to recycling. To try to close that gap, recycling bins are being placed on public housing property. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.

Recycling bins are staring to appear in public housing developments around the city. Officials say that by the end of next year they will be on every single property. They hope to boost the city's abysmal recycling rate, which is around 15 percent, less than half the national average.

"I have a funny feeling that this development in particular is going to be exceeding the city average of recycling," said Nilda Mesa of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability.

Environmental advocates, though, have been pressing the New York City Housing Authority, known as NYCHA, to implement a real recycling program for some time. In fact, a little more than a week ago, the Natural Resources Defense Council threatened to sue the authority over its refusal to provide recycling services.

"As the de Blasio administration has recognized, unless we get NYCHA to participate fully, we are not going to be able to solve our waste export problem, it's going to cost taxpayers more money, and the residents of these buildings themselves will be denied a basic right," said Eric Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

There have been haphazard attempts at recycling in public housing in the past, but they've never quite worked.

"They either had problems with resident participation, but more often, it was problems with making sure that the material got where the residents were disposing of it to where we were going to collect it," said Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia.

But getting residents to actually use these bins may prove to be a heavy lift. The bins are located outside, not inside, public housing buildings, which means that residents will have to make a special trip if they want to recycle.

The city is handing out reusable bags to transport recyclable.

"Well maybe now, if they enforce it, maybe people will take it seriously," said one resident.

"Step in the right direction," said another.

Some older residents said they wished the bins were closer to their buildings.

"Because I'm old. I need it over here," said one resident.

For now, she will have to walk.