Riverside Park has been taking away garbage cans and asking people to carry their trash out of the park with them, even if that means carrying around their steaming dog poop bags until they leave the park. The movement and removal of the cans has upset people who use the park every day and expect to be able to toss their trash there. In particular, dog-walkers tend to hate this policy.
“Most of the trash cans have been removed from the park and a sign is requesting us to take all our trash with us when we leave the park,” wrote Radha Tabak, who sent us the photo above. “Basically we will need to take our dog’s poop home with us?”
It’s a trend we’ve also seen in Central Park, where parks administrators have pulled garbage cans from lawns and other areas to try to encourage people to take their garbage out of the park instead of throwing the garbage out in the park. Last year, the change inspired a kind of gross revolt, which we dubbed “the poo-bag rebellion,” as some dog-walkers simply left the bags of excrement at the former locations of trash cans. Our article also inspired some informative (and heated) comments.
Central Park Conservancy spokesperson Dena Libner told us a few months ago: “When it comes down to it, this plan is going to mean fewer vehicles on paths and fewer rats in the Park – good news for our visitors!”
The city hasn’t gotten back to us on why it has pushed the policy in Riverside, but we’ve heard this is becoming a citywide thing. Central Park in particular takes trash removal very seriously, and even got a $500,000 grant last year from aluminum giant Alcoa to test new trash policies and increase recycling. A press release said:
“This effort will be the latest in the Conservancy’s movement over decades to improve trash management in Central Park. Since its founding in 1980, the Conservancy has removed waste receptacles from Park playgrounds to decrease rodent activity; removed the receptacles from major lawns to improve collection efficiency; broadened its precedent-setting “zone management” system, which divides the Park into 49 areas, each managed by its own zone gardener, to include waste removal; and embraced a ‘Carry In, Carry Out’ program that made visitors partners in keeping Central Park litter-free by carrying their trash out of playgrounds, woodlands, and landscapes.”
Radha contacted us again today and said some trash cans have been restored since we first started questioning the parks department about the policy. But the signs are still there, and the policy is likely to continue.
So what do you think? Is this just the latest attempt by Bloomberg & Co. to impose new nanny-state policies to achieve their vision of a glistening tourist-friendly city. Or is it a common-sense decision by a forward-thinking group of parks-lovers? Are you okay with lugging your trash out of the park? Let us know in the comments.
I was in riverside this past weekend,left my trash there…I’m not lugging it around to make Bloombucks look good.
Thanks Ellen for littering. You are the better person here.
anytime
I now see the logic in removing trash cans. “You bring it in, you bring it out!”
i don’t think the arguement of “bloomberg’s nanny state” really holds here. if anything, it makes people more accountable for their waste. If you just leave your trash on the ground when there is no trash can, it shows what kind of person you really are.
Also I’ve noticed an increase in rats the past few years in the park, if this helps, then kudos to the change.
Agreed. We’ve been in River Run playground when the rats were OUT OF CONTROL. And, not incidentally, the trash can just outside the playground was also. I never did Outward Bound, but all my friends who did always lived by that standard of carrying out their trash and leaving the place better than when they found it (which is an old Greek notion from Pericles).
We are spoiled New Yorkers.
This is gross. Maybe they think that they are getting rid of rats, but it really seems like they are just encouraging people to litter. I don’t want to walk around with my dog’s poop while I’m having a nice leisurely stroll in the park. I’m always happy to clean up after myself when in the park and I would even be happy to sort out my recycling if bins existed. Great job NYC, while other cities are adding recycling bins to their corners, you’re removing trash cans. Who do we need to write to to fix this?
As a dog walker I would hate to have to carry poop for two hours. I do get the point about the rats though. What about setting up doggy doo composters? And for sure leave the trash containers near all the dog runs.
I second that. Dog doo composters are a must if you’re going to remove the trash cans.
Sell the park to Trump so there will be reason to visit it for us cat lovers. I’ve lived a block from it for 20 years and haven’t ever met anybody new there like I have on Columbia campus or Central Park. The highway already spoils the nature vibe.
Wait — that’s brilliant! That’s how we can save the parking spaces for the residents of city housing at the Projects — we just build the luxury housing planned there *in Riverside Park* instead!
No more rat-infested highway-bisected park to plague the lefty liberal West Siders, *and* the “affordable” housing denizens get to keep their virtually-free in-city parking! Two problems solved!
Thank Heaven for real estate developers!
Personally, I’ll bring my trash in and out. It’s fine. However, I don’t think most people will and it’s going to be disgusting. I think it’s stupid. I also think the fat lazy park rangers should be forced to walk their patrol instead of yelling at people from their trucks. Not only could the use the exercise it’s a complete waste of gas.
During the time of the Crusades, there were those who followed a beggar, and later a duck. This is where we are today in our fair city. I entered Riverside Park at 83rd Street last Saturday morning (not Sunday – yet) and encountered the kind of trash mess you’d expect after a Mardi Gras weekend. Any surviving garbage cans were overflowing onto the pavement. I think it is impossible to communicate in a common sense dialogue with these pea brains who already have their “my way or the highway” venue in play. Too bad for us. What do a few more large trash cans have do to our “image?” At the end of the day (or weekend) it’s garbage, garbage everywhere…and nary a trash can to dunk.
This is common practice when hiking in nature because food refuse attracts animals. Unfortunately, even when there are trash cans (as in the streets and subways), some people just throw trash anywhere! I sympathize with the dog walkers. Agree that poop disposal containers would make sense.
This is ridiculous . . . Next they will have us mowing the lawn. If they are worried about rats pick the garbage up more frequently.
Poop composters are a good idea! The less cans / pack it out is worth trying on a closely monitored basis to see if it actually cuts down on rats or just creates more litter & abandoned poo. They should do it over the spring & summer & then show the public the results.
the problem with taking the trash out of the park when you leave is you then find the nearest trash can on the street. Monday morning the trash cans on Riverside drive were overflowing……bringing the rats closer the residents.
How do the Conservancy and the Riverside Park Fund divide the responsibilities for keeping Riverside Park clean? I know the latter does fundraising and hosts volunteer clean-ups, but if the Conservancy is involved, it seems that taking care of garbage, and maintenance in general, should be supercharged.
People will have trash and they will need to dispose of it. The result will be dirtier park or more tickets for littering.
When the Conservancy and the City explain the policy In part by saying it improves collection it sounds as stupid as it is. It doesn’t improve collection it eliminates it. I assume it also eliminates jobs.
There seems to be a level of unreality at the top. I guess the Mayor who has someone pick up and carry his trash for him and the head of the Conservancy who probably has the same just feel people should simply stay out of the park and recreate elsewhere that would eliminate trash and a lot of other problems in the park and leave it free for more commercial development, maybe even a luxury condo or two.
The problem with rodents and trash comes from the Conservancy and the City’s decision not to pick it up; thus, creating overflowing trash receptacles that attract rodents. Perhaps if the Mayor would stop allowing developers to do demolition without proper rodent control and exercise proper oversight over derelict houses like the on on West 76 Street called the Rat House rodents wouldn’t be such a problem in NYC. But then the Mayor doesn’t have to worry about such things he has people.
Trash cans have also been removed from the center strips on Broadway in the 90’s .
Yesterday while walking through Times Square, I happened to notice that they’ve replaced all of the standard wire trash cans with solar trash compactors. According to the company that makes the compactors, they’ll reduce the amount of waste and encourage people to recycle (they have slots for cans, bottles, etc.) It would also seem that these compactors would attract fewer rats, since they’re completely enclosed. Why not install these solar compactors in the parks instead of getting rid of trash receptacles altogether? Yes, I’m sure they are far more expensive than a standard wire trash can, but it’s a one-time investment. It’s noble to think that people are going to take their trash with them, but I’m afraid the people who actually do this will be few and far between, and the park will become a garbage-ridden mess.
This is so much trash! Every major city–in the world–has dog poop receptacles, many with rubber sleeves, and it works. The rebellion will silently grow, as dog walkers and companions will NOT walk around with filled poop bags. It’s one thing to clean up and carry after a major picnic–and many inconsiderate picnickers will just leave their debris–as part of the occasion. But dog people walk and stay in the park for extended times. This is an affront to those of us who want to be good citizens.
I am scrupulous about scooping up the poop from my two dogs, and shall now scrupulously leave those two pungent poop bags where the trashcan used to be. It is unsanitary and anti-social to have hundreds of people carry them around for two hours every morning.
We all pay a lot in city income and property taxes to be denied a basic sanitation service such as trash cans in parks. Especially in a city where most people have no personal outdoor space, the bulk of our outdoor lives are spent in the parks, and garbage is a natural consequence of that. My observation is that New Yorkers (Riverside Park users in particular) are very diligent about picking up after themselves (except for that area above 130th – yikes) so why not provide the services to encourage that type of behavior?
I was in Vail recently, and noticed that they use those trash bins with a pull up handle, which would alleviate the rodent/insect issue and reduce the smell from the garbage. Seems like a pretty easy fix. And if you can get a company to donate a few for free, all the better. Bottom line, there are clearly more creative and environmentally friendly ways to solve this problem – let’s use a little common sense here.
bring back the trash cans, I;m sick of dog poop all over the city. People will never carry it around, they barely pick it up
So, what’s so terrible? You bring stuff into the park, so you now have to take it out. I’m fine with this new rule. I’ve seen these garbage bins overflowing as people bring trash from home to dump in the parks.As usual, they take advantage of something which inconveniences countless other people. My fear, or course, is that now a lot of trash will end up on the ground. And that would indeed be a tragedy for the parks. I hope there’s some kind of enforcement of this.
What about buying food from vendors IN the park? Shouldn’t there be trash cans near them to properly dispose of that trash?
Yikes, it seems like this policy is just asking for people to litter!
Instead of removing the trash cans….very bad idea….please can’t we replace them with solar compacting trash cans that come in sets of three for bottles and cans, paper and one for trash that has a door that you must open. This would keep the rats out of the garbage and because they are compactors, it would also minimize the number of times trash has to be collected.
The Alcoa cans are worthless. The openings are progressively smaller to encourage throw away of cans, news papers and magazines. Who the heck is taking their magazines to busy street corners and to the park to throw away? The can for cans only promotes homeless people to empty cans in an effort to find cans. Ever had a smelly bag of dog doo and had to carry it for a half mile to find an overflowing can of dog doo? The best thing about living in nyc are Central Park and riverside parks. Too bad our city and parks administrive dumb dumbs can’t figure out they either need more trash cans emptied more often or more trash cans which are larger.