NYC discovers trash bins

New York City plans to join the 20th century in a few years.

WABC reported, “Mayor Eric Adams was joined by Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Monday morning to unveil New York City's first official trash bin outside of Gracie Mansion.

“In addition to the new bins, officials announced that starting Nov. 12, landlords with residential buildings with one to nine units will be required to use trash bins with secure latching lids.”

Poca, West Virginia, has had bins throughout my 35 years here.

Nevertheless, the mayor of the city that never sleeps (for fear of being mugged) said, “Welcome to our trash revolution, and no one does it better than our amazing commissioner. Commissioner Tisch, you have really taken on this job with the level of energy that we wanted. We could not have expected any greater achievements when it comes down to ensuring our city is a cleaner and healthier place to be.

“When you look at the billions of pounds of trash we remove off our streets annually, many people thought it was impossible that these babies here, the bins, were going to be part of our trash revolution. We're only catching up to what other municipalities across the globe, what they are currently doing. We needed a visionary, and we got one with Commissioner Tisch. I cannot thank her enough.”

How visionary does she have to be to see what the rest of the world is doing?

What the mayor refused to admit was the trash collectors’ union opposed bins because it only takes one man to sit in the cab and have the bin lifted and dumped into the truck. Many are the Thursday mornings that I have watched this, gone back inside and waited until the truck came back from the cul-de-sac before making my breakfast run to Tudor’s.

In New York, unions control City Hall.

Two summers ago, Politico reported, “Sanitation officials first revealed in late July that they intend to propose rules that limit how long smelly trash bags can sit on curbs waiting for pickup. Residences and businesses would have to wait until 8 p.m. to set out their trash or risk being fined $50 for a first offense. Those who want to do the dirty deed earlier could also opt to put their trash out at 6 p.m. — as long as it’s in a secured container.

“But opposition has been brewing amid leadership at 32BJ SEIU, which represents the workers who are tasked with handling trash in New York’s high-rise buildings. The policy change would have a significant impact on thousands of workers who would have to take on later shifts.”

The big winners in this labor dispute are the rats. The city’s rodent problem is so bad that it has an online Rat Map to show people which areas have a high infestation of rats.

Hmm. The border patrol should consider an Illegal Alien Map.

The New York Post boasted that the rats are a tourist attraction. I can see why city dwellers resent tourists because some of them are very, very weird.

The 2022 Politico story said, “Complaints of litter-strewn streets, foul odors and rats increased during the pandemic, coinciding with the de Blasio administration’s decision to cut funding for many sanitation programs. Adams has since rolled out new initiatives to combat the sense of disorder, stating that cleaning up city streets is an essential component of the overall recovery from the covid public health crisis.

“The administration recently launched a new Clean Curbs pilot program to put more bags in designated waste containers, emulating practices in other big cities to create more livable sidewalks and try to deter rats. The city also reinstated twice-a-week street sweeping and is increasing surveillance of illegal dumping. In October, the Sanitation Department will launch a new weekly collection program for food and yard waste in Queens.”

Setting out garbage bags unprotected by bins became a buffet table for rats. I expect a lawsuit from PeTA over this.

The Politico story said, “Sanitation trucks have historically started roaming the city at 6 a.m., allowing waste to sit on curbs for up to 14 hours. Since the spring, the city has moved roughly 25% of its trash collection service to the midnight shift, according to the Sanitation Department. That more closely aligns with the private waste industry, which usually sends trucks out at night to service businesses and restaurants.”

Now NYC is getting bins, which is cutting edge — from the year 1893, when Eugène Poubelle, a French lawyer and diplomat, patented the first trash can. The French call it La Poubelle.

So how is NYC finally going to join the 19th century? By featherbedding to appease the unions, Here in Poca, one man drives and operates the trash truck. Not so New York.

Commissioner Tisch told reporters, “In New York City we’re going to have two different types of garbage trucks. The standard garbage trucks that you are accustomed to today we call them our rear loaders. We are going to order all new rear loading trucks with a mechanical tipper that we place on the back of them so that the sanitation workers can attach the bin to the tipper and mechanically tip the bin into the truck.”

This protects workers jobs. Why use one-man trucks to collect the trash efficiently and quickly when you can put three on the payroll and slow collection down?

She said, “For the higher density parts of the city, when we get to buildings of 30 units or more, what we’re contemplating doing up in West Harlem this spring, we’re going to be using a special type of truck. It’s called an automated side loading truck and those trucks hoist these large four cubic yard on street containers. Those will be the two different types of trucks that we'll use depending on the size of the building that they're servicing.”

Side-loaders have collected Poca’s trash for 30 years.

Oh, what wonders will be next for NYC?

Keeping people accused of violent crime in jail before their trial? Locking up shoplifters instead of store items? Deporting illegal aliens instead of putting them up in luxury hotels?

One can dream.