NYC’s waste containerization is feasible, but it would eliminate 150,000 parking spaces

New York City has long been plagued by a persistent trash problem, with trash bags piling up on sidewalks and attracting rats. Over the years, city officials have tried various methods to address the city’s waste problem, including hiring more sanitation workers, pushing back collection times, and increasing fines for littering. However, despite those efforts, black garbage bags continue to clog New York City sidewalks. 

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) may have found a way to remove black trash bags from the city’s streets. The solution is to put trash in sealed, rodent-proof bins rather than in plastic bags placed directly on the curb. This approach, known as containerization, has been successfully used in cities across Europe and Asia. A new study from DSNY found that waste containerization is feasible on 89 percent of the city's streets.

The Future of Trash study suggests that roughly 80 percent of NYC streets could be containerized easily, with an additional 9 percent requiring more frequent collection or removal of conflicting uses. However, this solution would require New York City to repurpose 150,000 or 10 percent of its parking spaces for waste containers. Recently, Mayor Adams unveiled the city’s first containerized waste bins. 

“Environmental justice begins at the street level, and it starts now,” said Mayor Adams. “Clean streets are vital to vibrant neighborhoods and to New York City’s economic comeback. We need to stop dodging black garbage bags and instead fund and test container models throughout the city that will make our streets cleaner and more inviting for both New Yorkers and visitors.”

The DSNY would launch a pilot program in West Harlem this fall and install trash containers on up to 10 blocks. However, once the program expands, it would operate differently across the city: 50 percent of the streets would use individual bins, and 39 percent would install shared containers. However, the remaining 11 percent of the NYC densest areas cannot be containerized due to insufficient street space.  

“Containerization is something that has been talked about for many years, but now we are actually testing what works and what doesn’t in the real world,” said DSNY Commissioner Tisch. “Today’s announcement is a key step in finding ways to take back our streetscape from the mountains of black bags.”

Resources:

“Mayor Adams Announces "Clean Curbs" Waste Containerization Pilot Expansion to all Five Boroughs,” (NYC, 2023)

“NYC’s containerized trash program would eliminate 150,000 parking spaces,” by Aaron Ginsburg (6sqft, 2023)

“The City Can Fix Its Rat Problem If It Loses 150,000 Parking Spots,” by Clio Chang (Curbed, 2023)

“NYC Pushes Containerized Trash — But Not in the Densest Parts of the City,” by Rebecca Baird-Remba (Commercial Observer, 2023)

“Trash cans to rid rats come at cost of parking spots: DSNY report,” by Derick Waller (ABC7 News, 2023)

“'Rodent-Proof' Trash Containers Could Eliminate 150,000 NYC Parking Spaces,” by Madeline Garfinkle (Entrepreneur, 2023)

“New York City considering trash containerization to combat rat problem,” by Marcia Kramer (CBS New York, 2023)