New York City is filthy. It’s dirty. The city suffers from a perennial refuse problem. Denizens point the finger at government, whose budget cuts affect the frequency of trash collection and the number of employees to collect the city’s trash. Local and state officials justify those budget cuts as necessary measures to reduce spending and expect the problem to magically resolve itself.
A proposed budget cut of $106 million by former mayor Bill de Blasio, coupled with a hiring freeze at the Department of Sanitation between February 2020 and June 2021, which led to a reduction in force by about 700 employees, exacerbated our refuse problem. While the government has its place in keeping our streets clean, it’s up to city dwellers to point the finger at themselves to help minimize, if not eliminate completely, trash on the streets.
“If everybody would just take responsibility for doing their small part of [keeping their trash in their pocket or disposing of their trash properly], the problem would be significantly reduced,” said Ana Gatson of New Jersey about whether personal accountability was important to keeping the city’s streets free of trash. “Buy, you know, people are just lazy.”
“I think it’s more out of laziness that people aren’t [disposing of their trash properly]. No one’s [going to] want to hold something for ten blocks because there [are not enough] trash cans,” adds Edith of Astoria, Queens, who declined to share her last name.
Let’s set aside the paucity of trash baskets or cans. Is it really that bad if you hold on to your trash until you can dispose of it properly? According to three of the five people interviewed for this story, the answer is a resounding, “No.”
“Yes, I hold my stuff,” said Maria Palacio of Brooklyn, NY, when asked if she held her trash until the right moment.
“Yeah…I hold [my] trash until I can find someplace where I can throw it,” said Chris Parroco-Rojas of New Jersey, who was relaxing in front of the Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain in Bryant Park.
Part of New York City’s refuse problem is a result of the men and women who, instead of holding their trash until they come upon a trash basket, on the street or at their destination, chuck their cigarette wrapper, leave their half-eaten lunch underneath a train seat or on a park bench, or leave their Starbucks cup on the subway steps or on top of the mailbox of their building—an action that’s incomprehensible since they’re steps away from entering their apartment. Equally as bad is when people contribute to an overflowing trash can on the street. While it’s not your fault it’s overflowing (or is it?), there’s no need to add to the existing pile of trash.
A lack of personal accountability is one of the major reasons why our streets and parks are dirty.
Small Actions Inspire Others
People feel defeated when it comes to solving some of today’s most pressing problems. Every issue seems beyond an individual’s scope. The good news is that small, individual acts can lead to collective action with positive and immediate consequences. A great example of the success of individual action that inspired collective action in New York City—while not immediate in terms of today’s expectations (change does not occur overnight)—which continues to this day, is the Bronx River Restoration Project, a project founded by Ruth Anderberg and a handful of local Bronx residents in the 1970s. This project morphed into what is now known as the Bronx River Alliance, an organization that works with Bronx residents and businesses across the borough to maintain the 23-mile Bronx River Greenway.
More recently, One Block UWS and NYC Clean Volunteers were founded by individuals looking to effect change in their respective neighborhoods. Jake Russell, co-founder of One Block UWS, posted photos of his solo clean-up efforts on social media during the summer of 2020, inspiring neighbors to join him in his efforts to clean up local streets. A woman collecting trash while walking her dog inspired Ken Gray and Sokie Lee, co-founders of NYC Clean Volunteers, to begin their project in September 2021.
The people interviewed for this story expressed disinterest in starting a clean-up group for myriad reasons, time being one of the main reasons.
“If I have to be out every Saturday doing all this, probably not. If it’s one Saturday a month or every other month, [I] would be more willing to do it. It depends on how much of a time commitment it would be,” says Edith.
“I don’t have enough time in my life right now to do that. Will I pick up trash now and then when I see it? Yes, I have, and I’ll continue to do so,” says Parroco-Rojas.
“I’ll join a group, but I won’t start one,” says Palacio, for whom time constraints isn’t the issue.
If starting a clean-up group seems like a daunting task, then the small simple act of holding your trash until you can dispose of it properly can go a long way. Your actions can inspire the people around you to do the same. And you wouldn’t be alone in taking these steps because there are people who prefer not to litter.
Follow by Example
People can and do adapt. Someone or something always influences our behaviors, for better or worse. Usually, it’s immediate family. Other times, it can be the cartoon characters we grew up watching.
“I used to watch Captain Planet growing up, and he used to talk about not littering,” says Gatson. “And that stuck with me. We only have one planet, and we [must] do the best [we can] to be able to preserve it.” This simple lesson remained with Gatson as she grew older, and it helped her understand the impact our actions have on the planet.
It was Edith’s mom who taught her the importance of disposing of trash properly even if it wasn’t her own. “There [were] times when my mom [would] stop the car and make me get out of the car, pick [up the trash on our front yard] and bring it in the car so she [could] recycle it,” says Edith. Because they lived off a main road, there was a lot more trash in front of their and their neighbors’ homes than in other areas. “She’s always been neat [and always wanted] to help out. She’ll pick up trash while we’re walking,” adds Edith.
Palacio had a different experience growing up. Littering wasn’t on her family’s radar, and it wasn’t taught to her in school during her formative years. It wasn’t until she met people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, who taught her about global warming and the negative impacts of trash on our environment.
“It wasn’t until I got older and learned from friends who had the privilege [of growing up in cleaner communities]” says Palacio. She also picks up trash near her home or on walks with her roommate. “My roommate is very big [on picking up litter on the street]. I started to do things like that [because of her].”
The Solution
Seeing as how everyone interviewed for this story did their part in one way or another to keep refuse off city streets, it seems like a bottom to top approach is the way to go to keep our streets clean.
“It comes down to government officials because they are the ones with the power to [invest money, to reach out to corporations, to set standards]” says Jacqmi Torres of Caguas, Puerto Rico, who disagrees with a bottom to top approach to clean up New York City’s streets. “[There] has to be synergy between [local and state] government, corporations, and regular people. If [the government] doesn’t do [its] due diligence and show examples, why the hell [would] regular people [do anything]?”
The other four interviewees disagreed with Torres’s reasoning. Palacio thinks that a bottom to top approach would effect change because the government has done little to enforce fines and continues to propose budget cuts to the agency responsible for trash collection. For Palacio, it’s the people who are pushing the government for cleaner alternatives and solutions.
“As an adult, we know what’s right and wrong. We don’t necessarily need, at this point, [to be told what to do]” says Gatson.
“It’s a little bit of both. I’m more on the side of a bottom to top approach. You should start with yourself, and then…be the change you want to see in the world,” says Parroco-Rojas. He believes that everyone should be personally accountable for disposing of their trash properly since everything outside one’s home is a shared space.
“Go with the mantra of leaving the place better than you found it if you can. At least, keep it neutral. Don’t make it worse,” he says.
At this point, let’s not keep New York City neutral on this question. Let’s leave New York City a little bit cleaner every day.