NYC Thanksgiving Parade Cleanup Crew Ready To Go

NEW YORK, NY —Cleaning up after your Thanksgiving dinner is a hassle, but it's nothing compared to the job New York City's Department of Sanitation faces every year. The city will deploy 173 sanitation employees to clean up after the more than a million people who'll gather to watch Thursday's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The Department of Sanitation will have 22 collection trucks along the parade's 2.5-mile route to help pick up trash and other debris left behind after Thursday's festivities. The city collected 42 tons of debris after last year's parade, the department said.

The 137 sanitation workers and 36 officers doing the cleanup will have plenty of tools at their disposal, the department says, including 28 mechanical brooms, 26 hand brooms and 22 backpack blowers.

"The Thanksgiving Day parade is enjoyed by millions of people, and is anticipated all year long," city Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said in a statement. "The hardworking men and women of the Department of Sanitation are the ones responsible for keeping the city safe, healthy and clean, even on holidays."

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. And those who do get a reward — sanitation employees who work on Thanksgiving get paid 50 percent more than their usual daily rate, according to the sanitation union's contract with the city.

Planning to see the Thanksgiving parade in person? Check out Patch's how-to-watch guide.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Starts In NYC

(Lead image: A New York City sanitation worker sweeps away trash in 2005 after a New Year's Eve celebration. Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)