By Dan Murphy
Councilman John Rubbo told us a story that he found while researching the issue of whether public garbage cans add to the cleanliness and quality of life of a community, or make the same community dirtier.
The legendary Walt Disney decided to learn about garbage by sitting on a bench at Disneyworld and watch what visitors did with their garbage. If there was a garbage can within 30 feet of the visitor, the garbage was thrown into the can, but if there wasn’t a garbage can around, in many cases, the garbage was littered on the streets of Disneyworld.
Some of Disney’s lessons can be used for the City of Yonkers, which is currently experimenting with the removal of its public garbage cans on its streets to determine if people and businesses are abusing the cans, and if without the cans, the streets will in fact become cleaner.
Rubbo has been speaking with his constituents along McLean Avenue about the new policy. He underscored the fact that this is a trial period of time to determine if it is better or worse without the cans, and that he is taking a wait-and-see approach to determine the final outcome.
The logic on garbage in any community is that there are some who just don’t give a hoot and will litter wherever and whenever they can, including in our newspaper boxes around the city, and in green LimeBike baskets and, most of all, on the streets.
Other concerns are that small businesses, who are required to pay for their own garbage removal, may be filling the city cans outside of their business with their garbage.
Somebody is filling the city cans with garbage, which makes them overflow onto the streets, creating more litter and filth throughout the city.
Some have asked why the city didn’t tell the public before removing the trash cans, but it did. In a letter dated Sept. 28 to all businesses and property owners, Department of Public Works Commissioner Tom Meier wrote: “A substantial factor that contributes to the litter problems we are experiencing particularly in more commercial areas is overflowing litter baskets. The city has several-0hundred litter baskets, which are emptied daily and are intended for pedestrian litter only. Instead, our crews regularly respond to overflowing litter baskets, which are filed with commercial and household refuge. For these reasons, the city will be implementing a new initiative, the removal of public litter baskets, which has experienced success in cities with the same problems.”
We spoke with Meier, who told us that so far, he is satisfied with the decision. “We have been handling this problem of litter for my seven years at the DPW and much longer before that,” he said. “The thought was, let’s try something new and see if people can take responsibility and carry their garbage home.
“For residents, nothing has changed. We pick up your household garbage. For commercial businesses, they are responsible to clean up their sidewalk outside of their business, and they can place their own litter baskets outside of their business if their customers come out with a lot of garbage.
“As a taxpayer, I don’t want my tax dollars picking up merchants’ garbage,” said Meier. “This is a new approach and it is a practice that all of us will have to get used to, to see if it’s working.”
Meier said all of the city litter baskets have now been removed and there is no timetable for them to return. “If we can keep the cans off the street, maybe people won’t litter as much and throw their litter at the can that is already full,” he said.
Several Yonkers merchants have complained about city litter baskets filling up quickly during the day and then overflowing onto the sidewalks and streets in high-traffic areas. Meier added that “litter baskets that were close to merchants are always full, and as you get further away from the merchants are less full. Some people have been abusing the city litter baskets and filling them up,” he said.
One suggestion has been to return the litter baskets back to high-traffic areas including parks and bus stops. Many residents don’t agree with the city’s decision and are already complaining on social media that without litter baskets, the problems of littering only get worse.
City Council President Mike Khader said: xxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxx
Send your thoughts to risingmediagroup@gmail.com
