commercial trash cans New York City has created some interesting programs to involve citizens in keeping their 25,000 commercial trash cans from overflowing

If you think taking out the garbage is a chore, think about what New York City goes through every day with its 25,000 commercial trash cans.

All the trash from homes, businesses and institutions handled by city workers on a daily basis amounts to 12,000 tons of trash and recyclables. Every day!

This is one reason why The New York City Department of Sanitation is the largest in the world.

Think about the resources that must go into handling 25,000 commercial garbage cans. (And tons of snow in the winter).

While the New York Police Department is known as "New York's Finest," the 7000 uniformed sanitation workers are known as "New York's Strongest."

They definitely earned that moniker by disposing of more than 10,000 tons of refuse every day and lifting more than 20,000 commercial trash cans.

To mobilize an army of that size, you also need equipment.

Here's the mechanical side of the DSNY:

  • 2,230 general collection trucks
  • 275 specialized trucks
  • 450 street sweepers
  • 365 salt and sand spreaders
  • 298 front-end loaders
  • 2,360 support vehicles

New commercial trash cans are a Big Event in neighborhoods

New Yorkers are passionate about their garbage, or rather, getting rid of it.

Because here's another interesting fact. The city is one of the few major metro areas without alleyways, where most garbage is stored in other cities for pickup.

Not New York City. After all, a large part of city, Manhattan, is an island. So early planners tried to cram as many buildings as they could in that limited amount space and that's why there are few alleys.

The consequence of this action is that New York's garbage is very visible every day, right out there on the streets and sidewalks.

And when it doesn't get picked up, residents get on the phones.

They are so passionate in fact, that when the city sanitation department adds more commercial trash cans, they sometimes have an unveiling ceremony complete with a black velvet drape.

The handling of this much refuse and recyclables requires not just meticulous planning, but also creative thinking.

commerical trash cans NYC One of DSNY's 2,000-plus very busy sanitation trucks

NYC's Innovative Adopt-A-Basket program

For that reason, the city's sanitation department has come up with a few clever ideas to involve the public in their massive daily undertaking.

For one, local residents, businesses and organizations can participate in Adopt-a-Litter Basket.

The commitment is not a big one for volunteers. Just agree to keep on eye on the commercial trash cans in your area. When you see one that is about three-quarters full, grab one of the free plastic liners supplied by the city, remove the current liner, tie it off and leave it next to the basket. Then simply insert a new liner into the commercial trash can.

Sounds simple. But when people engage in the program, it's a great way to keep sidewalks, streets and neighborhoods clean.

Because here's what happens when commercial trash can are full and overflowing. According to a study conducted by Keep America Beautiful, the tendency is for people to just throw their trash on the ground next to the trash receptacle.

Unfortunately, the researchers found litter creates litter. Because one or two people didn't bother to find another place to dump their trash, by throwing their refuse on the ground, they create a signal for others that it is okay to throw your trash here too.

It's a snowball effect.

What a great way to melt that effect right way by involving the public. Obviously, the city's 7,000 workers can't be all places at all times, so by involving local residents, they are putting up a concerted effort to keep the unsightly impact of that massive amount of trash as minimally visible as possible.

The DSNY will also supple volunteers with a collection schedule so they know when pickups will occur. Plus they give out work gloves, a dust bin and a broom to sweep the area clean.

Tidying up the sidewalk and curb in front of your home or business is basically just an extension of keeping a clean house.

For their efforts, the DSNY will also award volunteers with an official Certificate of Appreciation. That's a reward that should be celebrated and something a citizen can be proud to display. Recipients of that certificate show they care for their community and they are doing something to make the neighborhood a better place to live.

The DSNY will even go one step further.

If an individual, business or organization wants, they can sponsor their own commercial trash cans. With the city's Sponsor-A-Basket-Program the person or group purchases pre-approved trash receptacles and get to have their name and logo put on the basket to show they are protecting the community's quality of life.

What a great display of civic pride. Not only that, but those logo commercial trash cans are placed in highly strategic locations, so the benefit of promoting a name or brand will go a long way, 24 hours a way, 7 days a week.

Alerts for overflowing trash receptacles

If volunteers aren't available and trash is starting to pile up, the city also has an "Overflowing Litter Basket Service Request" form. As we said, it's critical to report these instances and nip litter in the bud. Because otherwise, those full trash receptacles can create an ugly, hazardous and unsanitary condition.

Not only is NYC great at gathering all that trash, they examine it too.

By digging through sample trash pickups, department officials find opportunities.

For example, according to a recent report, New York City residents produce less waste than ever before. But organics, which make up 34% of the trash and consist of food scraps and yard waste, represent a chance to recycle that material into compost and avoid adding more tonnage to the landiflls.

The researchers also discovered that while residents are great at recycling cardboard with a 79% capture rate, they are forgetting to add aluminum to the recycling bins which would be another 15% capture rate.

In addition, newspapers, which once took up a large portion of trash and recycling, are becoming less and less prevalent.

Here's a breakdown of the type of trash according to a report the DSNY published last year.

  1. Paper recyclables - cardboard, paper, newspaper - 14.3%
  2. MGP recyclables - aluminum and steel cans, glass, plastic bottles and jugs - 19%
  3. Organics suitable for composting - food, compostable paper such as waxed paper, and yard waste - 32% (big opportunity to keep this out of landfills)
  4. Other - textiles, electronics, diapers, wood, carpet, upholstery and construction materials - 34.7%

All that research helps the DSNY work towards its really BIG goal - to send zero waste to landfills by 2030.

The city does an amazing job of handling those 25,0000 commercial trash cans and with their innovative way of thinking, such as adopting a trash receptacle, they just might get there.