The familiar sight of trash bags on the sidewalk will soon be far less frequent in Brooklyn Heights, as the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced its second installation of sealed trash containers in its Waste Containerization Pilot. Following a similar installation in Times Square this spring, DSNY worked with the Montague Business Improvement District to install sealed bins at three locations in Brooklyn Heights: 187 Henry St., 113-117 Montague St., and 168 Montague St.
“Borough by borough, neighborhood by neighborhood, this pilot program is expanding so that we can continue to learn how sealed waste containers perform in a variety of settings,” said NYC Sanitation Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “New Yorkers want cleaner sidewalks and cleaner curbs, and this pilot brings us a significant step toward that goal. We will be looking at data here and throughout the five boroughs to see what works to enable us to take our streetscape back from mountains of black bags.”
“Thanks to the Clean Curbs program hosted by the NYC Department of Sanitation and Department of Transportation, the Montague Street Business Improvement District is grateful to pilot the program for other organizations around New York City, said Kate Chura, Executive Director of the Montague Street Business Improvement District. “The bins are made of very durable materials and most importantly are rodent proof. We’ve been able to keep trash bags off the sidewalk and have expanded our plantings along Montague Street. We continue to get praise and thanks from the businesses and the community.”
“It’s long past time to end the stacks of garbage bags strewn across our streets and the Clean Curbs Containerization program is the answer we have been waiting for! I’m thrilled to see these beautiful bins on Montague Street. Our garbage never looked so good! I’m excited to help bring garbage containerization solutions citywide,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler.
Employees of the Montague BID currently monitor and empty corner litter baskets throughout the district, leaving the full bags on the curbs for collection by DSNY Sanitation Workers. Under the new pilot, the new containers will act as a centralized site to hold bags in a sealed atmosphere prior to collection. NYC Sanitation Workers will collect the bags from the locked and sealed containers on the street, freeing up sidewalk space for pedestrians.
These new containers — as well as the Times Square containers — mark the first steps of a $1.3 million pilot program announced by Mayor Eric Adams in April. The program tests methods for getting garbage bags off sidewalks — which in turn will reduce the convergence of rodents, improve aesthetics, and take back parts of city streetscape currently overburdened by piles of trash — and will include possible tests in business improvement districts (BID) and for both residential and commercial waste. Additional installations of other types are expected in the remaining Boroughs over the next several months.