The MTA has finally called it quits on their controversial experiment where they removed subway stations garbage cans in an effort to reduce trash.
Remember when we told you that the MTA were rolling out a program to reduce trash and track fires by removing trash cans? Well, it seems the MTA have decided that was a bad idea; a conclusion they would have come to much sooner if they’d have read our Facebook comments on that particular article.
After two audits the Metropolitan Transportation Authority found that the program actually increased the frequency of track fires and the amount of trash …well, I guess there goes my idea for a 8000-calorie-a-day weight loss program.
The program, which officially launched in 2011 started in two stations, expanded to ten then another twenty nine. According to the MTA at the time of the twenty-nine station expansion, the rate of track fires at the stations had lowered, and stations with no cans saw a 5% reduction in littering. I guess that success was short lived as garbage cans slowly started reappearing on the mezzanine levels and now, as we know, they’ll be coming back to the stations themselves.
With recent fair-hikes, cleaner stations will be a welcome sight for NYC straphangers but sad for fans of NYC’s many pizza rats.
Featured image source [Wikimedia Commons]