It might not be something most of us think about often, but NYC generates garbage and waste on a nearly unimaginable scale, requiring a force of nearly 10,000 to take care of everything busy New Yorkers leave behind. Check out these 5 interesting facts about New York City's Department of Sanitation!

1. 5 Fascinating Facts
About NYC’s Department
of Sanitation (DSNY)
BY BCB
PROPERTY
MANAGEMENT

2. It might not be something most of us think about often,
but NYC generates garbage and waste on a nearly
unimaginable scale, requiring a force of nearly 10,000
to take care of everything busy New Yorkers leave
behind.

3. Known as NYC’s Strongest, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY)
is responsible for the estimated 12,000 tons of refuse and
recyclables that New York discards every day. Here are 5
fascinating facts about one of the city’s grittiest and most
essential agencies.

4. They Took Over a City
Besieged by Trash
Before modern sanitation systems, the city’s streets and waterways
were New Yorkers’ sole repository for garbage and waste. This
means, yes, that the sidewalks were piled high with unthinkably
unsanitary messes. The existing Street Cleaning Bureau was
dreadfully inadequate, and a new streamlined Department of Street
Cleaning was established in 1881. The current name was applied in
1929.

5. At the western end of Canal Street, adjacent to the West Side
Highway, sits one of the city’s most visually remarkable buildings.
With no windows, you might guess this 70 foot high jagged, ultra-
modern building was an art gallery or cutting-edge condominium
rather than a municipal storage facility, but the Spring Street Salt
Shed is the rare utilitarian building with high-art aesthetics. This
unmistakable structure, completed in 2015, was designed specially
to house the 5,000+ tons of salt the city keeps on hand for
dispersal when snow strikes.
THEIR GIANT SALT CRYSTAL
HOUSES THE CITY’S SUPPLY

6. While the Sanitation Department’s
(mostly) white trucks are ever
present in the city, it may surprise
the uninitiated to know that they
don’t collect nearly all of the
waste created here. 248 private
collection companies supplement
the work done by the DSNY by
picking up the garbage created by
private businesses.
THEY’RE NOT
ALONE IN
FIGHTING
GARBAGE GROWTH

7. They’ve Inspired
Top Designers
In 2016, designer Heron Preston introduced a line inspired by
Sanitation workers’ uniforms just in time for New York Fashion
Week. Eager trend-hoppers lined up around the block for
Preston’s unique rollout at the Spring Street Salt Shed, with
entertainment provided by the DSNY Pipe and Drum Band.

8. THEY’RE UNLIKELY TO REMAIN
UNDERAPPRECIATED FOR LONG
The ranks of the Sanitation Department aren’t strictly comprised
of office workers and trash haulers. Since 2006, NYU
Anthropology and Environmental Studies professor Robin Nagle
has served as the agency’s official anthropologist, an unpaid
position dedicated to studying the impact and future of refuse
collection. Her work includes performing research on the waste-
management ecosystem and acting as custodian of DSNY’s
culture, with an Oral History and Museum of Sanitation in the
works. Soon enough, thanks to Nagle’s work, the Department of
Sanitation will have the citywide recognition it so richly
deserves.

9. THANK YOU!
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