New York City’s Department of Sanitation plans to replace nearly 30,000 parking spaces with “Empire Bin” trash containers over the next six years in order to eradicate piles of trash bags from sidewalks, according to documents published Wednesday.
The estimate was published for the first time in a draft environmental study, which is necessary to make good on previous Mayor Eric Adams’ vision for a “trash revolution.” Instead of putting garbage out onto the sidewalks in bags, city planners see a future where all garbage goes into containers — which they expect will help reduce the city’s rat population.
Smaller buildings are already required to wheel trash out to the curb in bins with secured lids due to rules imposed under Adams. But under the larger plan, buildings with 31 or more units will be automatically assigned the on-street bins that are lifted and emptied by a new fleet of side-loading garbage trucks the department plans to buy…