New York City residents will have to place their rubbish bags in wheelie bins rather than leaving them on the street – in what the city’s mayor called a “trash revolution” and a “game changer” for the city.
Whilst rubbish bins are a norm for most people in the UK and across the world, those in New York City will now be required to put their rubbish in dedicated bins for the first time.
Mayor Eric Adams wheeled out the new ‘rat proof’ bins at a press conference yesterday and has since been mocked after the video of him unveiling his plans for the city went viral on social media.
The new rules are hoped to reduce piles of rubbish left on the streets, improving cleanliness and reducing the number of rats.
If people don’t follow these new rules, they will face a fine of $50. The rules are already in place for businesses and will come into place for one to nine housing units later this year.
Adams said: “We are only catching up with what municipalities across the globe are doing.”
“When I go abroad and when I visit other countries, they are blown away that we still use plastic bags.
“We all have one unified dislike and those are those pesky New York City rats.
“They’re getting more and more bold. They no longer run from you. They just hang out and do what they want. And we want to make sure we change that in a real way.”
Larger buildings will see their rubbish rules changed next Spring, as the city prepares to roll out garbage trucks to empty bins on the pavements. The programme will be similar to those in European cities, like Barcelona.
New York City’s residents produces 40 billion pounds of rubbish annually.
The mayor says that thanks to this project, residents won’t see or smell nearly 10 billion pounds of rubbish each year.
Plastic wheelie bins were first invented by UK company Frank Rotherham Mouldings in 1968.
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