Talk Trash

See someone littering?

Tell them where to put it.

#TalkTrashNewYork

#TalkTrashNewYork is DSNY’s call to action, encouraging New Yorkers to do their share by putting litter where it goes – in a basket. (Reminding fellow New Yorkers to do the same helps, too!)

Don’t trash New York.

Litter trashes our town. Garbage on our streets and sidewalks reaches our sewers, then floats to our beaches – where it hurts wildlife, damages our landscape and messes up summer.

Thanks to New York’s Strongest, our streets are the cleanest they’ve been since modern tracking began in 1975. Of course, there’s always room for improvement, and that’s the concept behind #TalkTrashNewYork. It’s a friendly reminder that all New Yorkers are playing on the same team to keep New York City healthy, safe and clean.

6,400 Sanitation Workers:

Empty 23,500 litter baskets across the 5 boroughs
Sweep 6,000 road miles
Have cleared 22,000+ dirty and dangerous properties since 2010

Want to help keep our City beautiful? Residents, businesses and community groups can volunteer to join DSNY’s Adopt-a-Basket Program. Plus, New Yorkers who want to lend a hand in their neighborhoods can borrow cleaning equipment from DSNY by calling (646) 885–3769.

Here’s Why

Litter isn’t just ugly. It’s bad for New York.

It hurts our quality of life. Scattered trash makes neighborhoods less welcoming for residents – and can even hurt local businesses by keeping shoppers away.

It is unhealthy. Litter left to rot creates the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive – and a breeding ground for rats and other pests.

It’s unsafe. From tripping hazards to subway track fires, scattered litter creates problems for pedestrians and commuters.

Zero Waste to Landfills

New York City is leading New Yorkers to send zero waste to landfills. Today, New Yorkers "throw away" 3,000,000 tons of residential waste and 3,000,000 tons of commercial waste each year. Of course, there’s no "away": Garbage is just moved from sight.

The Challenge. The amount of garbage we generate is unsustainable. Producing goods depletes resources and delivering them consumes fossil fuels and generates greenhouse gas.

Breaking the Cycle. Cutting what we consume, reusing what we have, donating what we don’t need and recycling as much as we can protects our environment.

Managing Materials. Reducing, reusing and recycling are best – and if you can’t, using a litter basket is the next best thing.

What’s in Our Waste