Sanitation Department Surprised When Shortage of Garbage Bins Leads to Overstuffed Trash Cans

The Sanitation Department seems to be stuck on the problem of illegal dumping of household and business trash in garbage bins around New York and especially in Brooklyn. In an effort to prevent the unsightly and unsanitary overflow of trash in bins, the Sanitation Department began to remove the bins from sidewalks back in 2011. And what has been the result? It doesn’t look too good.

Pails on the sidewalks are still stuffed with refuse from families and local businesses.

“They overflow quite frequently, then the garbage just spreads all around the neighborhood,” said Bridget Elder, 52, resident of Kensington.

Since the beginning of the experiment 95 bins have been taken away. In Brooklyn bins were removed from Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Kensington, Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace.

Not Enough Bins, or Too Many?

Many residents believe that there is only one way to end the problem and clean up the area, and that is by increasing the number of garbage truck pick-ups. Although most trash bins are emptied once per day, it is clear the frequency of emptying the trash must increase.

“You used to see garbage cans all over the place,” said Kensington resident Robert Waugh. “Now, there’s a lot more garbage on the ground. This is just insane.”

The Sanitation Department has the power to add pick-ups, but removing the bins is cheaper, and that (non) solution also is less time consuming.