The New York City sanitation department is finalizing an order for up to 1,500 huge bins from the Spanish-based business Contenur, which will be positioned in the streets throughout West Harlem beginning in May, according to authorities.
The containers will be rolled out in front of buildings housing more than 31 apartments, according to the department’s plans. This is the latest stage of the city’s initiative to replace trash bag heaps on sidewalks with secure-lid containers where people may dispose of their waste—after changing set-out times, requiring businesses to use bins and, starting this fall, requiring low-density residential buildings to use bins.
A spokesman for the sanitation service, Joshua Goodman, stated that a brand-new fleet of garbage vehicles will empty the newly purchased containers. The new vehicles feature unique arms on the sides that raise and dump the garbage bins mechanically, saving the trouble of having to load bags into the back.
Twelve of the new trucks will be used by the department, according to Goodman, to service the inbound containers. The city is testing streetside containers in West Harlem before implementing them throughout the five boroughs. Over the following ten years, the city may spend up to $700,000 year on the containers according to the proposed deal to be concluded later this month, which also includes installation and cleaning services for the bins.
The new streetside bins in West Harlem, according to Goodman, will be fixed and feature locks that can only be accessed by occupants of the buildings they are allocated to. The existing bins are on wheels and have lids that anyone can open.
The new bins are an extension of a trial scheme that was started in West Harlem last year, where communal on-street bins are shared by many residential complexes. Larger structures will be the target of the next phase of bin deployments, with a specific container allotted to each building.
