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No one knows how New York keeps up with all that trash

July 12, 2014 by Shari

As the largest city in the world’s most wasteful country, New York generates more than 14 million tonnes of trash each year as reported on the  website of a junk removal company.

Not only that, New York is also America’s densest city: its narrow, traffic jam med streets make collecting all that garbage a logistical Gordian knot, is not as easy as the families at home who use Kitchenaid to get rid of their trash. And New York is located smack in the centre of the Northeast megalopolis, a giant urban expanse where available land for disposing of garbage is in short supply. Have you recently been thinking about renting a dumpster, but are unsure how the process even works? Wondering if the driveway is big enough, rental prices or whether or not a permit is necessary are just some of the concerns potential dumpster renters are faced with. Having a roll-off dumpster is essential for any construction project, major home renovation venture and for other various industrial uses. However, if you’ve never rented before, this process could seem overwhelming and stressful. This dumpster rental guide outlines each major factor to consider when deciding to rent a roll-off container. It offers tips for customers looking to rent a quality and affordable dumpster for their construction project, and also highlights questions you should be asking yourself when contemplating which company to rent from. When the Time is Right to Rent a Dumpster Construction and home renovation projects can often produce more waste than manageable for simply a few trashcans. This is an instance when it is appropriate to rent a dumpster to properly dispose of your unwanted waste. From household debris to roofing shingles and demolition materials, a rented roll-off dumpster is an easy solution to an organized, stress-free working environment. You can find more information about Dumpster Rental Company in Austin TX through this site https://www.dumposaurus.com/.

To deal with these challenges, the city relies on a complex waste-management ecosystem encompassing two city agencies, three modes of transport (trucks, trains and barges), 1,668 city collection trucks, an additional 248 private waste hauling companies of which, you can get more information on this, and a diverse network of temporary and permanent facilities extending halfway around the world, every public facility it is also required to have one of the Austin dumpster rentals, this to help maintain the garbage in one place.

A brief history of New York’s waste management

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Waste management problems are nothing new for New York, as they are in other places like Europe. Caledonian Removals Glasgow, a renowned company in the UK, reports that the garbage problem is becoming more pervasive not only on land, but also is imperiling many endangered acquatic species. As described in a 1657 ordinance, when New York was still called New Amsterdam, “… 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.” A snapshot from two centuries later depicts a city overrun with horse manure, posing a health hazard for residents.

Through most of its history until the mid-1900s, New York’s primary method for disposing of its waste was simply to dump it into the ocean. At one point, as much as 80% of New York’s garbage ended up out at sea. However, in what was surely its most enduring waste management initiative, New York City used some of its garbage (mostly ash, rubble and other debris) to create artificial land, thereby increasing its own size. Much of the city’s land today, including some of its priciest neighbourhoods, are literally built on garbage.

A 1660 map of lower Manhattan overlaid on a current map shows how much of the land is manmade, built on top of the City’s own garbage.
The long journey of New York garbage
Before the trash goes out to the curb for pickup, New York law requires it be separated into three categories: paper, metal/glass/plastic, or mixed solid waste (non-recyclable garbage). Each type of waste is typically collected separately and follows a different path to its ultimate destination, often with several intermediate stops along the way.

Each day, New York’s public garbage trucks collect nearly 7,000 tonnes of residential mixed solid waste. After finishing their routes, most of these trucks will deposit the garbage in one of New York’s waste transfer stations located throughout the city. From there, the garbage will eventually be loaded on to a barge or train and carried as far as 600 miles to its final stop. For most of New York’s mixed solid waste (about 80% of it by tonnage), this last stop will be a landfill. The remaining 20% will end up at a waste-to-energy plant, where it will be incinerated and converted into energy.

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Hi, I’m Shari Wakefield and I am the creative director and social media manager behind the food/lifestyle blog GoodFoodWeek. I’m a mum to four beautiful boys, who spends her days working in corporate communications and her nights cooking up a storm in her kitchen. We reside in Sydney, Australiaread more

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GoodFoodWeek started in 2008 as a way of sharing recipes with uni friends and family who were spread near and far. It has evolved over the years to contain my ramblings as I’ve searched for a house, planned the perfect veggie patch, stumbled through farmer’s markets with my eye half open (because you need to be there at 6am to get the fresh eggs), had babies, gathered family and friends around a shared table, laughed out loud and enjoyed life to the fullest! Read More…

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