August 12, 2020

City joins U.S. EPA to Encourage New Yorkers to Properly Dispose of Trash and Help to Improve the Cleanliness and Aesthetics of City Beaches and Local Waterways

The New York City Departments of Environmental Protection, Sanitation, and Parks joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today to launch “Trash Free NYC Waters,” a new public information campaign aimed at reducing littering and improving the cleanliness and aesthetics of New York City beaches. During rainstorms, trash and debris discarded on city streets and sidewalks can be washed down storm drains and end up on beaches and shorelines of local waterways. This summer, “Trash Free NYC Waters” posters will be shared via social media and displayed on approximately 2,500 Sanitation vehicles citywide.

“Whether it’s canoeing on the Bronx River or whale watching on the lower harbor, New Yorkers are finding new ways to reconnect with nature on local waterways,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “I want to encourage everyone to do the right thing and put litter in a trash basket so we can keep our water trash-free.”

“There’s no such place as away—when you throw away trash, it ends up somewhere, and if it’s not disposed of properly, that somewhere is often our waterways. Now more than ever, New Yorkers need to place their trash in bins where it belongs, to keep our streets, our rivers, and our beaches clean,” said Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia.

“As New Yorkers safely enjoy the surf and sand this summer, it is important that we all pitch in to keep our beaches and waterways clean and litter-free,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. “We are proud to partner with our sister agencies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to raise awareness on the importance of properly disposing of trash. Together, we can make a difference to improve our shorelines, maintain healthy beaches, and protect aquatic wildlife.”

“Trash in our area waters diminishes the quality of our marine environments and our communities. Even litter thrown on a sidewalk can find its way to the ocean after being washed into storm sewers,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “Working with the City of New York, we are reaching out to help our fellow neighbors understand the importance of keeping our beaches and coastal waters free from litter and asking them to be active partners in helping protect the environment.”

The “Trash Free NYC Waters” campaign is an update on the long-running “Clean Streets = Clean Beaches” program which began in the early 1990s to highlight the link between litter on the streets and trash found on area beaches. The 2020 program will utilize a newly designed poster with the slogan “Don’t Litter. Together We Can Keep Our Water Trash-Free.” The posters will be on display on Department of Sanitation fleet vehicles, which include approximately 450 mechanical brooms that sweep litter from more than 6,000 miles of streets per day. Additionally, the Department services more than 25,000 litter baskets daily.

DEP regularly inspects and cleans the approximately 148,000 catch basins city-wide, which trap litter before it can make its way into the sewer line. DEP operates and maintains 23 booms and nets that drain over 60,000 acres and 58 sewer outfalls. These nets are serviced by four specialized skimmer vessels that collect trash and other debris that makes it through the catch basins, including wood, plastic, metal, rubber, and glass, before it enters local waterways. The total amount of trash and debris collected by the boom and skim program has dropped by 75 percent since 2010. DEP has also built litter control devices within sewer outfalls along the Bronx River, the Gowanus Canal, and Newtown Creek that use hydraulic bar screens and nylon netting systems to capture litter before it can pollute the waterways.