As part of ongoing efforts to ensure that 24 million pounds of residential waste spend as little time in public spaces as possible, officials from New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) said the agency’s largest trash collection shift will move an hour earlier effective Monday, April 22. They said the shift has traditionally operated from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., but will instead begin at 5 a.m. and finish at 1 p.m. going forward.

 

As previously reported, local residents of the Reservoir Oval in Norwood have complained repeatedly about residual trash lining the wall of the Williamsbridge Oval park, though their complaints were moreso in reference to unbagged trash strewn around in between parked cars and the park’s walls.

DSNY officials said that prior to the pandemic, around 80 percent of trash was collected beginning at 6 a.m., 14 hours after residents were allowed set it out, and the remaining 20 percent was not collected until 4 p.m., a full 24 hours after it was placed on the curb. They said the latter would sit for a full day taking up public space, attracting rats, and emitting odors. They said that under the leadership of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, “New York’s Strongest” have reoriented towards substantially reducing the time such trash occupies public space.

 

They said, today, residential waste may go out no earlier than 6 p.m. in a bin or 8 p.m. if placing bags directly on the curb. The agency added that substantial amounts of trash are now being collected at midnight, mere hours after the trash is set out, and the old 4 p.m. trash shift has been completely eliminated.

DSNY officials said the announcement represents a substantial operational change that will make for cleaner streets across the City, with trash removed from many areas before most residents are awake and using the streets and sidewalks.

 

The department reminds all residential property owners and managers to place their waste out for collection by midnight ahead of their respective collection day and added that DSNY will be there to pick it up faster than ever before.