• CptEnder@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Real answer: NYC has such insane amount of residential trash that it’s actually more efficient to have someone (usually a super) just prepare the trash in specifically designed industrial bags on the curb 2x week. Like the amount is so large no single bin like this could manage any amount of trash, so they don’t even bother loading bins they just process the bags directly into the garbage trucks. My building actually has like 15 bins like these where we can store our trash for the off days and our super sorts it all when the collection comes - they’re all usually full 2x week.

    So switching to a bin only system would be require either more collection days (an insane amount of spending SDNY is tax dollars) or we’re just gonna get overflow trash on the street in shitty, easy to break homeuse bags. For reference there’s zero trash on my street unless it’s collection day and the city designated bags for those are pretty much indestructible and rarely spill trash.

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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      4 months ago

      Except rats have been chewing through the bags, hence the bins. Knowing NYC rats they will probably learn to chew into the bins too, though. Having put-out time and pick-up time closer together would/will make more impact on the rat problem, imho

      • imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        But there’s no practical way to enforce when people put out their trash.

        I may have been in NYC for too long, but I honestly don’t even see how rats are a problem anyway. They generally just scavenge garbage and do their own thing. They’re in a similar category to pigeons.

        Plus, they are presumably a critical food source for alley cats. I happened to stumble upon a newborn litter of alley kittens a few weeks ago. The mother must have been away hunting.

        So you’re basically murdering these little kittens if you decimate the rat population in NYC by preventing them from eating our trash. You sick fucks. /s

        • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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          4 months ago

          Those babies are still little enough, if they and mom are trapped, she can be TNR and they can be socialized and adopted!

          Restaurants have a specific time they put out their bags, which is several hours before the trucks actually come around. I don’t remember the numbers but there was an article about it, probably in the NYT because I subscribe for the games despite living in LA. (We use cans and Dumpsters here. Still haven’t got the whole compost thing figured out, though.)

          Anyway, see if there’s a TNR organization that can foster those sweet fluffballs!

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      have someone (usually a super) just prepare the trash in specifically designed industrial bags

      This sounds like a job for Garbage Bag Man! heroic theme music swells

    • masterspace@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      Lots of cities have residential towers and have massive truck sized bins and/or compacting bins to deal with it. The big difference with New York is that it’s towers were built before they seriously considered how to pickup and manage garbage so there isn’t space for loading docks and alleys and the other infrastructure you need for that.

      • CptEnder@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Yeah that’s definitely true for the large high rises. Was referring to mostly walkups and brownstones.