New Yorkers of a certain age may remember a public service announcement that ran showing a man dropping a candy bar wrapper onto the floor of a crowded subway car — bringing the train to a screeching halt, and causing all other straphangers to look upon the man in scorn.
The man sheepishly reached down to retrieve the wrapper, getting straphangers to smile and the train car moving again. An announcer then said, “Garbage: You don’t have to put up with it anymore. New York, let’s clean up New York.”
Public shaming can sometimes be an effective tool, and the “New York, Let’s Clean Up New York” campaign of the 1970s and 1980s caused many residents of the Big Apple to think twice before treating the city streets like their own personal trash cans. This is their city, after all, and they ought to have enough pride in it to avoid treating it with such disrespect.
Littering, however, is not merely about pride or unsightliness. It is also a health problem because every article of trash on the ground contributes to the rodent and bug infestation problem that has gripped New York since time immemorial. This is also true for New Yorkers who leave piles of garbage bags and other debris outside public litter baskets on street corners, abdicating their responsibility to properly dispose of their trash in their own containers.
To his credit, Mayor Eric Adams has made literally cleaning up the streets a major focal point of his term at City Hall, investing millions of dollars in containerization efforts and increased litter basket collection.
Last month, Adams reported success in the full trash containerization pilot program in West Harlem, where all businesses and residences must now place all garbage in sealed containers. Not surprisingly, the area has seen a dramatic drop in rat sighting complaints since the program’s start.
These efforts are a boon for New York, and should continue regardless of who the next mayor is. Expanding trash containerization and more frequent public litter basket collections are solid investments not only in a cleaner city, but also keeping vermin out of our homes and businesses. Increasing enforcement to prevent illegal dumpers from throwing household trash in public litter baskets is another must.
But more than that, we New Yorkers need to do better in policing our own attitudes when it comes to litter. We know better than to dump trash on the sidewalks or subway cars, or to leave huge piles of trash at street corners to rot in the summer sun. Let’s be mindful of ourselves and do our part to keep the city trash-free.
In other words, “New York, let’s clean up New York.”
