Nov 9, 2026 · 1h 3m
New York redesigns the politics and mechanics of trash
This Is How New York City Takes Out Its Trash
New York’s move toward containerized collection could reshape public space, worker safety, neighborhood equity, and the economics of a universal service.
- 1New York’s black-bag system emerged from infrastructure limits and the 1968 sanitation strike, not simple public preference.
- 2Containerized collection promises safer, more mechanized work but intensifies competition for curb space, parking, deliveries, and accessibility.
- 3The city’s five-year rollout tests whether New York can replace exceptionalism and nostalgia with proven international waste practices.
Don't miss
Joshua Goodman explains how automated container collection could reduce sanitation workers’ lifting injuries while forcing the city to renegotiate its curb space.
The brief
New York’s garbage system looks routine because it works every day, everywhere. Joshua Goodman of the Department of Sanitation explains why universal cleanliness is both a logistical feat and a political choice.
The city’s iconic black bags trace back to a lack of alleys and the aftermath of the 1968 sanitation strike, showing how old infrastructure can harden into civic habit.
Containerized collection replaces much of the current curbside choreography with wheeled bins and automated side-loading trucks, aiming to reduce lifting injuries while reshaping public space.
Bin placement forces sanitation into direct conflict with parking, deliveries, hydrants, curb cuts, and accessibility; shared containers may reduce impacts but create their own neighborhood tradeoffs.
Goodman describes a five-year expansion from two community districts to all 59, drawing lessons from Tokyo, Barcelona, Singapore, and Amsterdam without treating any model as directly transferable.
The episode’s larger argument is that cleaner streets depend less on nostalgia or awareness campaigns than on infrastructure, assigned responsibility, design, and a willingness to change.
What was said on this episode
33 statements · 18 positive · 8 negative · 1 mixed · 6 neutral
New York sanitation processes and exports 24 million pounds of material daily.
“In New York City, we at the Department of Sanitation pick up, process, and export 24 million pounds of trash, recycling, and compostable material every single day.”
Listen at 5:18
New York should preserve full universal sanitation service.
“we need to keep that commitment to full universal service.”
Listen at 6:25
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City Trash RevolutionPositive8:30
New York’s Trash Revolution is producing results through coordinated reforms.
“it's required an enormous amount of data analysis, of streetscape redesign, of work across agencies, of breaking down silos, and fortunately it's getting results.”
Listen at 8:30
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City street layoutNegative9:29
New York City was built without alleyways, limiting rear-building trash storage.
“the city was built without alleyways.”
Listen at 9:29
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City waste system reformNegative10:43
New York took roughly five decades to pursue a new trash solution seriously.
“it took another 5 decades or so to get serious about promoting a new solution.”
Listen at 10:43
- Joshua Goodmanon Public-space cleanlinessPositive11:33
Public-space cleanliness substantially affects people’s quality of life.
“cleanliness is not just a— an abstract concept. It has a tremendous impact on a person's quality of life.”
Listen at 11:33
- Joshua Goodmanon Exposure to trash and ratsNegative12:47
Living around trash and rats is harmful to residents.
“living around trash and rats is not a good thing”
Listen at 12:47
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City containerization strategyPositive13:44
DSNY’s containerization strategy is expected to work for New York’s streetscape.
“we've developed a strategy that we think will work for the unique streetscape of New York.”
Listen at 13:44
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City per-capita waste generationPositive14:01
New York produces less trash per person than most Western cities.
“We actually produce per person less trash than most other Western cities.”
Listen at 14:01
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City waste export modelPositive16:06
New York’s waste-export model is more environmentally sustainable than landfills or trucking.
“This is obviously Far more environmentally sustainable than an in-city landfill and also than the old trucking model.”
Listen at 16:06
Properly sorted New York recyclables are reused as new products.
“If you properly sort a can or bottle in New York City, it will become a new can or bottle or other reusable item.”
Listen at 17:07
Styrofoam is chemically recyclable despite often being treated as non-recyclable.
“Styrofoam is often used as the archetypical example of a non-recyclable item. Oh, can't be recycled, can't be recycled. On a pure molecular level, of course it can be recycled.”
Listen at 17:22
New York gave residents approximately 15 million pounds of finished compost.
“we gave away about 15 million pounds of finished compost to New Yorkers.”
Listen at 19:21
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City wastewater digestersPositive19:52
New York digesters convert food waste into fertilizer and biogas for Brooklyn homes.
“it's digested into biosolids for fertilizer and usable biogas that heats homes in Brooklyn.”
Listen at 19:52
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City containerization programPositive26:20
Containerization would move New York from lagging to leading among North American cities.
“When this program is implemented, New York will have gone— I would never say worse, but have gone from the back of the pack to first.”
Listen at 26:20
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City containerization programMixed26:49
New York’s containerization program is achievable but difficult.
“It is of course achievable, and it is of course difficult.”
Listen at 26:49
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City containerization capacityNeutral27:14
New York’s container capacity is planned to cover one extra collection day.
“we planned for basically one extra day above their collection”
Listen at 27:14
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City low-density building containerizationNeutral28:57
Buildings with one to nine units will use wheeled trash bins.
“a containerization system for low-density buildings, 1 to 9 residential units, so a single-family home up through a small apartment, using a wheeled trash bin”
Listen at 28:57
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City automated side-loading truckPositive33:17
DSNY built a prototype automated side-loading truck in about ten months.
“we got a prototype truck built in about 10 months.”
Listen at 33:17
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City automated side-loading truck fleetNeutral33:50
About 20 automated side-loading trucks currently operate within DSNY’s roughly 2,300-truck fleet.
“We've got about, probably about 20 of them operating now out of our full fleet of 2,300 or so.”
Listen at 33:50
New automated collection trucks will continue arriving over five to six years.
“they'll continue to come in as this program rolls out over the next 5 or 6 years.”
Listen at 33:57
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City containerization parking impactNegative36:58
Full containerization is expected to use about 30,000 parking spaces, possibly fewer.
“we found that it was more like 30,000 spaces at full rollout, and it could be, uh, it could be fewer based on the opt-ins.”
Listen at 36:58
About half of sanitation workers’ injuries involve sprains and strains from throwing bags.
“about 50% of their line of duty injuries are sprains and strains from throwing bags.”
Listen at 37:42
- Joshua Goodmanon Mechanized side-loading waste collectionPositive38:25
Mechanized side-loading collection will reduce sanitation workers’ physical strain.
“the move to mechanized collection, the side-loading truck in high-density areas, will make a huge difference for the backs and knees of sanitation workers.”
Listen at 38:25
Bulky items left beside bins will continue receiving collection.
“If there's an item that doesn't fit in your bin, you know, a couch is a great example, just leave it next to it. A truck will still be coming down.”
Listen at 39:33
Removing all litter baskets in a 2018 pilot failed because littering increased broadly.
“We did in 2018 conduct a one-district pilot where we tried going with the Tokyo-Mexico City model and removed every litter basket. Yeah, because people sometimes say like, oh, the litter baskets, they attract the trash, you know, when people— yeah, didn't work. People littered everywhere.”
Listen at 41:17
- Joshua Goodmanon Trash pilesNegative41:36
Existing trash piles attract additional trash.
“It is true that piles of trash attract additional trash.”
Listen at 41:36
- Joshua Goodmanon Built environment and public cleanlinessNegative46:58
The built environment is a larger cleanliness problem than outreach alone.
“we're at the point where we see the built environment as the bigger issue here.”
Listen at 46:58
- Joshua Goodmanon Defensible-space design for cleanlinessPositive48:56
Defensible-space design elements may improve cleanliness over five years.
“we're hopeful that over the next 5 or so years, we'll see those same design elements work on the cleanliness space.”
Listen at 48:56
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City containerization programPositive50:48
New York plans to roll out containerization across the remaining 57 districts in five years.
“we're gonna do the remaining 57 in about 5 years as trucks start rolling off the line.”
Listen at 50:48
- Joshua Goodmanon New York City waste streamNeutral52:02
New York City’s waste stream has changed repeatedly over time.
“The waste stream has changed many times before.”
Listen at 52:02
- Joshua Goodmanon Singapore and Amsterdam waste systemsPositive55:03
Singapore and Amsterdam use underground trash containers enabled by planned redevelopment.
“Singapore, which did a tremendous amount of greenfield development and was able to sort of put best practices in place from the beginning, and also Amsterdam, which was in a similar situation in the post-war era of being able to kind of restart a lot of their public space design, they use underground trash containers”
Listen at 55:03
- Joshua Goodmanon Tokyo and New York waste separationNeutral55:47
Tokyo separates seven waste streams, while New York has four.
“in Tokyo they have 7 waste streams, whereas we've just gone from 3 to 4.”
Listen at 55:47
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
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