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Nearly all New York City residential buildings will have to containerize trash

Image courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

October 11, 2023

Nearly all New York City residential buildings will have to containerize trash

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's ambitious plan to prevent garbage from piling up on streets and sidewalks has a new target: residential properties. Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday announced all buildings with nine or fewer apartments will be required to place their garbage in a secure container starting in 2024. This covers 765,000 buildings in the city, or 95 percent of all residential properties across the five boroughs.
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Policy

All NYC businesses required to containerize trash

Photo courtesy of m01229 on Flickr

September 19, 2023

All NYC businesses required to containerize trash

By Devin Gannon

Roughly 20 million pounds of trash will be tucked away in containers instead of in trash bags piled up on New York City sidewalks next year. As part of the latest effort to curb the city's rat problem, all businesses will be required to put garbage in lidded containers beginning next March, Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday. About 25 percent of the city's businesses, including restaurants and grocery stores as well as chain businesses, are currently mandated to containerize trash; when the newest proposed rule takes effect, the requirement will apply to 100 percent of businesses.
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Policy

NYC’s containerized trash program would eliminate 150,000 parking spaces

Image courtesy of m01229 on Flickr

May 4, 2023

NYC’s containerized trash program would eliminate 150,000 parking spaces

By Aaron Ginsburg

Containerization, storage of trash in sealed bins rather than in plastic bags, is possible on 89 percent of New York City's streets with residential properties. A new analysis released by the city's Department of Sanitation this week found installing collection receptacles across the city is actually feasible, but would require the elimination of roughly 150,000 parking spaces, or 10 percent of all curb space on blocks with residential buildings. As first reported by the New York Times, the city will launch a pilot program in West Harlem this fall that will include the installation of trash containers in parking spots on up to 10 blocks and at more than a dozen schools.
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City designates these NYC neighborhoods as ‘rat mitigation zones’

Photo by Ludovic Bertron on Flickr

April 5, 2023

City designates these NYC neighborhoods as ‘rat mitigation zones’

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City this week named eight rat-prone neighborhoods as part of Mayor Eric Adams' quest to control the rodent population. According to a notice posted by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Monday, the "rat mitigation zones," which are areas with "high levels of rat activity," include Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, and Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, Grand Concourse in the Bronx, and Chinatown, the East Village, the Lower East Side, and Harlem in Manhattan. As Crain's reported, these identified zones will be the focus of a multiagency effort to address the rats and the conditions that cause them, according to the city.
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New compost program in Queens collected over 12.7 million pounds of waste in just three months

Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 6, 2023

New compost program in Queens collected over 12.7 million pounds of waste in just three months

By Aaron Ginsburg

In just three months, the new Queens compost program collected more than 12.7 million pounds of organic waste, according to data recently released by the city's sanitation department. The program, which launched last October, enrolled every residential building in the borough in a weekly curbside composting collection. According to the department, Queens districts significantly outperformed other communities that also participate in compost collection. The data shows that New Yorkers are eager to dispose of their food and yard waste in a sustainable manner.
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Policy

NYC to fight ‘plague of rats’ by pushing back trash pick-up to 8 p.m.

Photo by Ryan Vaarsi on Flickr

October 18, 2022

NYC to fight ‘plague of rats’ by pushing back trash pick-up to 8 p.m.

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City wants to adjust the time of day trash can be put out as a way to curb rat infestations and improve overall cleanliness. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced a proposal to push back the window New Yorkers can put out their trash for collection from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The city says this policy change will make the streets cleaner, ease traffic and pedestrian flow, and reduce the number of rats drawn to trash. The proposed rules are open to a public comment period through November 10, with final rules set to take effect on April 1, 2023.
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NYC to provide every home in Queens with weekly curbside composting

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

August 9, 2022

NYC to provide every home in Queens with weekly curbside composting

By Aaron Ginsburg

After previous failed attempts at an effective compost program in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced a new "no frills" system aimed at making it easy and less costly for New Yorkers to dispose of food and yard waste. Under the new program, the city's Department of Sanitation will collect compost and organic waste from every residential building in Queens starting on October 3. New Yorkers can put any food waste, yard waste, and food-soiled paper in a Sanitation compost bin to be picked up weekly. According to the mayor, the program, which will be available to 2.2 million New Yorkers, is the largest curbside composting program in the country.
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Policy

NYC finally launches containerized trash bin pilot

Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

April 21, 2022

NYC finally launches containerized trash bin pilot

By Aaron Ginsburg

Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday unveiled a new containerized waste bin that the city will eventually deploy across all five boroughs in hopes of thwarting rats, making more room on the sidewalks, and improving the overall quality of life for residents. The new bins are part of the city's Clean Curbs Pilot program, which was announced two years ago. The first bins were installed in Times Square on Wednesday.
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As NYC parks see growing garbage problem, city launches anti-trash campaign

Photo by Timothy Krause on Flickr

August 31, 2020

As NYC parks see growing garbage problem, city launches anti-trash campaign

By Devin Gannon

Coronavirus-related budget cuts and an increase in use may be to blame for the growing garbage problem across New York City green spaces. As Gothamist reported, the number of 311 complaints about garbage and litter increased by 120 percent from the same period last summer. To address this increase in green space litter and to encourage New Yorkers to "show your park some love," the city's Parks Department launched a new "Toss Your Trash" campaign last week.
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May 1, 2015

Public Shaming: New Campaign Uses DNA to Recreate the Faces of Litterbugs

By Diane Pham

We've all seen those folks who callously toss their garbage into the street when there's a trashcan just ten steps away. While most of us usually remain hush and pick up the slack, there's a group out there that's fed up with litter and they most certainly aren't afraid to point fingers. As part of a campaign developed by Ogilvy to help clean the streets of Hong Kong, activists including Hong Kong Cleanup, Ecozine, and The Nature Conservancy joined forces to give a face—or literally, faces—to the problem plaguing cities worldwide.
find out more about this genius campaign here

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