Manhattan (and to an extent NYC in general) is a fascinatingly odd case.
The reason why manual trash bag pickup stuck around so long is due to the near complete lack of useful alleyways and incredibly dense curbside parking, meaning that trash set out for collection had to either be placed on the sidewalk (the only available space) and carried between cars to the truck, or in the case of front load dumpsters wheeled out across the sidewalk from a restricted alley to a waiting hook loader (very few NYC alleys are wide enough to fit a compactor truck of any configuration, let alone allow them to orient for successful operator-in-cab pickup).
Add to that the complexity of most residential buildings or apartments not having a space where bins can be easily stored, and it becomes a pretty challenging problem to solve. Converting 30,000 spaces for the new Empire Bins / designated collection spots is a massive change to the city operations, but also the only way this could be feasibly implemented. The logistical issues have been so cool to watch being addreesed in real-time, super excited to see how the Sept 8th deadline plays out. 30/70 odds on no issues vs. Mad Max: Trash Armageddon.
(We’ve had modern wheelie bins for at least decades elsewhere in the country. Heck, the US invented both tip-loading for wheeled bins and compactor garbage trucks, though nobody can really claim wheelie bin invention; examples of proto-wheelie bins (wheeled trash carts per-business or large household which were emptied on a schedule) have been found in Pompeii, and there’s debate on examples being found even further back)
We have card payments at the pumps, and the garbage can thing was very much a weird NYC thing.
Manhattan (and to an extent NYC in general) is a fascinatingly odd case.
The reason why manual trash bag pickup stuck around so long is due to the near complete lack of useful alleyways and incredibly dense curbside parking, meaning that trash set out for collection had to either be placed on the sidewalk (the only available space) and carried between cars to the truck, or in the case of front load dumpsters wheeled out across the sidewalk from a restricted alley to a waiting hook loader (very few NYC alleys are wide enough to fit a compactor truck of any configuration, let alone allow them to orient for successful operator-in-cab pickup).
Add to that the complexity of most residential buildings or apartments not having a space where bins can be easily stored, and it becomes a pretty challenging problem to solve. Converting 30,000 spaces for the new Empire Bins / designated collection spots is a massive change to the city operations, but also the only way this could be feasibly implemented. The logistical issues have been so cool to watch being addreesed in real-time, super excited to see how the Sept 8th deadline plays out. 30/70 odds on no issues vs. Mad Max: Trash Armageddon.
(We’ve had modern wheelie bins for at least decades elsewhere in the country. Heck, the US invented both tip-loading for wheeled bins and compactor garbage trucks, though nobody can really claim wheelie bin invention; examples of proto-wheelie bins (wheeled trash carts per-business or large household which were emptied on a schedule) have been found in Pompeii, and there’s debate on examples being found even further back)