New York City's waste management system is a refuse removal system primarily run by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The department maintains the waste collection infrastructure and hires public and private contractors who remove the city's waste. For the city's population of more than eight million, The DSNY collects approximately eleven thousand tons a day of garbage, including compostable material and recycling.[1]
Waste management has been an issue for New York City since its New Amsterdam days.[2] As a 1657 New Amsterdam ordinance states, "It has been found, that within this City of Amsterdam in New Netherland many burghers and inhabitants throw their rubbish, filth, ashes, dead animals and suchlike things into the public streets to the great inconvenience of the community".[3][2]
- ^ "About DSNY". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
DSNY collects 24 million pounds of trash, recycling, and compostable material every day.
- ^ a b Goodyear, Sarah. "Life Inside the Drunk, Rowdy World of New Amsterdam". CityLab. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ "Talking Trash: A History of New York City Sanitation". The Bowery Boys: New York City History. 2019-08-09. Retrieved 2020-04-04.