New York City's waste management system is a refuse removal system primarily run by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The department maintains the waste collection infrastructure and hires public and private contractors who remove the city's waste. For the city's population of more than eight million, The DSNY collects approximately eleven thousand tons a day of garbage, including compostable material and recycling.
A pile of trash bags placed curbside for collection
Typical New York City litter basket
Machines inside the Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility
Fresh Kills Landfill
Videos
The Fresh Kills Landfill was a landfill covering 2,200 acres (890 ha) in the New York City borough of Staten Island in the United States. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary in western Staten Island.
Garbage scows bring solid waste to Plant #2 at Fresh Kills Landfill in 1973
Fresh Kills Landfill on the western edge of Staten Island
A D7 Tractor with two Athey Wagons dumping, 1973.
Worker combing through debris from the World Trade Center at the Fresh Kills landfill; Manhattan is visible in the distance