Overflowing trash cans a sign of a larger problem

From the Brooklyn Paper:

The heart of Bay Ridge is clogged with garbage — and locals are blaming the Department of Sanitation.

Ground zero in the city’s war on trash are busy corners of 86th Street and Bay Ridge Avenue and Fourth Avenue where the litter problem had gotten so acute last year that Community Board 10 actually asked the city to remove street trash bins to discourage residents from disposing of their household trash at corner receptacles.

Instead, said CB10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann, the Sanitation Department added a second garbage can at each of the intersections’ corners — then cut trash pickups by 60 percent.

As a result, the new garbage cans are overflowing as badly as the former ones.

“We are working with Community Board 10 regarding its proposal [to remove the cans entirely],” said Dawkins. “We evaluating the situation and is testing a variety of methods to resolve the problem, including enforcement. Litter baskets are not receptacles for household trash but are designed for use by pedestrians to dispose of candy wrappers, cigarette packages, fruit skins and other light refuse.”

Notice how no one mentions the 500lb. gorilla in the middle of the room... Why is so much household trash being dumped in public trash cans? Illegal conversions. Landlords tell their tenants to throw their trash there so no one catches on. If you have 3 extra apartments in a one-family house, there'll be a lot of trash bags in front of that house throwing up red flags.

Photo by Angie Naron on Flickr