Transportation
Throwing It All Away: NYC Subway Trashes More Trash Cans
Transit officials say a pilot program has helped reduce garbage inside stations, but results elsewhere have been mixed.
New York City’s pilot program to reduce litter in subway stations by cutting the number of trash receptacles has been so successful, transit officials claim, that it is going to be expanded to eight more stations in coming weeks.
The idea, fairly common in state parks and beaches, is this: if you don’t give people a place to put their garbage, they will take it with them wherever they are going. On the subway, the theory goes, this will cut down on the detritus that leads to track fires, rat infestations, and general grossness.