May marks the 20th anniversary of the end of the cleanup and recovery efforts at Ground Zero. Thousands, including first responders and sanitation workers, worked that day and in the months after. Many suffer and still die from injuries. Sanitary teams are honored with a documentary about their role. It is currently in production. Monday was a special display at The 9/11 Memorial Museum.
The Sanitation Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2016 to support the department’s employees and mission. It supports the documentary project.Mart Bellew retired from the Department of Sanitation after more than two decades. “We were instrumental in moving materials and opening them up,” he said.
DSNY crews transported 1.6 million tons of debris from the site to a facility created at Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island. Cleaning up, sorting and registering took nine months.