To Combat Rats In Upper Manhattan, City Installs High-Tech Trash Cans

HARLEM, NY — The installation process for 1,000 large high-tech trash bins, which would get those massive piles of black plastic trash bags off the sidewalks, begins this week in parts of Upper Manhattan.

The new European-style trash containers — called Empire Bins — are coming to Community Board District 9, which includes West Harlem and Morningside Heights, as part of a pilot to containerize 100 percent of the district's waste.

All buildings in the district with more than 30 apartments will receive these stationary street-side bins, which are operated via a key card and unloaded via an automated trash truck. Each Empire Bin can hold approximately four cubic yards of waste, the department said.

Buildings with between 10 and 30 units will also have the option to have an Empire Bin installed, or they can use a smaller wheelie bin, the New York City Department of Sanitation said.

On June 1, West Harlem will become the first area of New York City with all trash in containers.

"Folks are tired of trash bags and ready for a cleaner city," Shaun Abreu, the district's councilmember, told Patch.

Abreu represents Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, West Harlem, Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights, and Washington Heights.

Abreu said the upcoming pilot is building on a much smaller-scale version that brought containerization to 10 blocks in Hamilton Heights.

The previous pilot brought rat sightings down by 60 percent in the area, the New York City Department of Sanitation said.

“We started piloting bins last year in Hamilton Heights, and we’ve already seen a 60 percent drop in rat complaints. It’s completely changed what it feels like to take a walk down the block—especially at night, when rats used to be out in full force," Abreu told Patch.

"Now, everywhere I go, people are asking me how they can get bins on their block. It feels great to be able to tell people that they will have them very soon."

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