Trash

In New York, according to Urban Omnibus, "Each week, approximately 64,000 tons of household and institutional waste are collected. ... But public awareness of what happens to that trash once it leaves the curb is limited."

Greenwich Village and Queens subway stations have had their trash bins removed for the past two weeks. This counterintuitive plan was initiated 3 months ago by officials due to an "epidemic of unsightliness and malodor," writes Michael Grynbaum.

No, this is not a video of Petula Clark, but do take her message to heart. Rats are not just on the subway tracks - occasionally they hop a ride too, so riders beware - stay awake! Caught on tape...

The expense of properly carrying out recycling and trash programs is weighing on cash-strapped states. Government is pushing back, with new requirements mandating that manufacturers take some of the load.

Solar-powered trash compactors, while not cheap, pay for themselves relatively quickly. With state and city budgets more liquid thanks to stimulus money, municipalities are snapping them up.

Tracking tags have been implanted in garbage in New York and Seattle to monitor where garbage goes and how municipal waste management systems can improve.

Residents of Santa Ana neighborhood are locking up their trash bins, hoping to eliminate the noise and trouble brought by scavengers.

The city of San Francisco approves a plan to require composting and recycling citywide by this fall, with fines kicking in within two years.

Elected officials in the Atlanta area decide to relocate a historic cemetery to make room for a landfill. NAACP officials believe the relocation fits a pattern of racial discrimination.

The city of Los Angeles forms a task force of prosecutors, police, and others to combat illegal disposal of trash all over town.