NYC Seeks to Adopt Next Model of Trash Containers Meant to Prevent Rats

by Mindy Cohn

As New York City and its mayor continue the unrelenting fight to reduce the rat population by cutting off the rodents' food supply, the city has decided that the late answer to the rat problem is putting residents' trash into larger containers.

According to the Gothamist last Friday, New York City's sanitation department is looking for a company to supply the city with 100,000 "European-style" on-street containers. The pilot program would begin in Manhattan Community District 9 or West Harlem and would be used for residential trash with one container per building.

The city plans to have the containers ready for the spring of 2025. After the hoped-for successful pilot program, the goal is for a full citywide expansion.

The containers being sought will need to hold 28 large trash bags. The city has already unveiled the first of its fleet of automated side-loading trucks, which can pick up the four-cubic-yard containers. 

This newest innovation for fine-tuning the garbage issue follows fast on the heels of a one-million-dollar expenditure for  1,000 brand-new litter baskets ordered by the city. The trash containers cost $1,000 a piece and are meant to make the green wire mesh version commonplace around New York City despite budget cuts in the cash-strapped city, as reported by BoroPark24 here. 

Hopefully, after all of the new designer garbage containers are installed, no one will end up saying "oh rats" over money thrown into the garbage.