New York City Has Some Shiny New Trash Bins. They Aren’t as Revolutionary as You Might Think

Some are calling it “the Trash Revolution,” but in reality, it doesn’t feel very revolutionary, especially for Europeans accustomed to simply throwing their trash in a trash can. On Monday, New York City authorities announced their new waste management strategy. The pilot program is currently limited to Harlem, and its promoters claim it’ll set a precedent for the entire country.

There’s nothing particularly surprising beyond the usual political rhetoric. What’s interesting is how New York City is promoting this “revolution.” The city is using trash cans and collection trucks similar to those that have been in operation in Europe for decades.

Eyes on the trash. Currently, trash collectors in New York City are tasked with a job that has become increasingly rare in most European cities: removing plastic bags full of trash from the sidewalks and dumping them into the back of trucks.

For the collectors, this job is tedious, and for the city, it’s become a problem. The trash bags accumulate in the streets, obstructing passage, generating unpleasant odors, leaking liquid, and attracting rodents. The City of New York has already had to address issues with rats.

In contrast, European countries have long adopted a different strategy. They’ve installed collectors in the streets, allowing citizens to dispose of their trash bags inside, which keeps them safe from rats and seagulls. Over the years, this system has been refined with features like boar-proof trash cans. In some countries, trash containers have electronic locks that can be opened with special cards. In other areas, there are improved mechanisms for unloading trash into trucks.

Revolution in New York City. After half a century of “leaving mounds of garbage on streets,” New York City has decided to make a change to its trash collection model, adopting a system similar to that used in Europe. The first step was taken in 2023 when authorities mandated that food businesses, ranging from bars to supermarkets, deposit their waste in designated containers. A year later, this requirement was extended to all businesses, and in recent months, similar regulations have been implemented for small residential buildings.

A pilot program is bringing significant change to the streets of Community Board 9 in Manhattan. There, the use of containers will now apply to all types of residential buildings, from small buildings with fewer than 10 homes to larger ones that house more than 30.

New York City proudly claims that this neighborhood has become “the first neighborhood in North America to have 100 per cent of trash fully containerized,” even dubbing it a “Trash Revolution.”

A non-revolutionary revolution. Interestingly, this so-called revolution may not be very revolutionary at all, especially from a European perspective. Europeans have been using similar waste management tools for years, if not decades. The changes being implemented in Harlem will primarily consist of three elements that have long been a part of urban life in European cities: large Empire bins with a capacity of 3,000 liters, wheeled refuse collectors, and side-loading trucks.

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Closed bins with key card access. In recent weeks, the NYC Department of Sanitation has been busy installing approximately 1,100 Empire bins in West Harlem. However, unlike most trash cans found in Europe, these bins won’t be accessible to anyone passing by on the sidewalk. They’ll remain closed, and only residents of designated buildings will have access to them using a key card.

Residents won’t be able to throw their bags directly into the bins. Instead, they’re instructed to leave their trash in designated collection areas within their buildings. Only building staff or waste managers will empty the bins.

Measuring buildings. In West Harlem, larger buildings with more than 30 units have been assigned large Empire bins. Buildings with between 10 and 30 apartments can choose between these larger bins or smaller wheeled containers. Those buildings with fewer than 10 units are required to use 200-liter bins. To streamline the process for waste operators, New York City also introduced a prototype side-loading garbage truck a year ago, which can be operated by just two staff members.

In November, the city requested that smaller residential buildings begin using these containers to gather initial results. According to a recent press release, “Early data shows containerization is working: Since residential container requirements first went into effect six months ago, the number of rat sightings reported to 311–when compared to the same month 12 months prior–has dropped.”

Challenges. New York City isn’t only exploring the use of containerized waste management but also facing the difficulties that come with it. According to The New York Times, sanitation workers struggle with double-parked cars blocking waste bins, which prevents collection trucks from accessing them.

Moreover, the article warns about the potential impact on parking availability. City officials estimate that expanding the container program citywide could necessitate the elimination of up to 50,000 parking spaces. This estimate doesn’t include the hundreds of millions of dollars required to purchase trash bins and collection trucks capable of servicing the entire population of New York City. Critics also argue that the initiative shouldn’t be extended to include recycling.

Images | Jandra Sutton | City of New York

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