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Mess or Blessing?
photo by Jill ZimmermanOne of our recent contributors to the Uncommon Economic Indicators loves her view (see photo).She writes, ' walking around my [Williamsburg] neighborhood, I see tons of empty...
View ArticlePicking Up After Your Picnic
Prospect Park has over eight million visitors a year. On summer weekends, the park is packed with bikers, walkers, picnickers, and kite flyers. But despite the daily trash collection and a campaign...
View ArticleCity Trash Removal Resumes
For the first time in a week, city sanitation department crews are out picking up garbage instead of plowing snow.A limited number of crews are on the streets Sunday, picking up dumpsters outside large...
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Should You Treat a Subway Platform Like Yosemite?
(photo by Stephen Nessen/WNYC)TN's Jim O'Grady was on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show this morning to talk about the NY MTA's attempt to reduce trash in the subway. One experiment: remove trash cans to...
View ArticleThe Trash Train
Jim O'Grady, WNYC's transit reporter, explains the latest MTA plan to fight litter by removing trash barrels from subway platforms.
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People DO Litter Less Without Subway Trash Cans. But They're Not Happy About It
(photo by Stephen Nessen/WNYC)A counter-intuitive subway garbage experiment is yielding mixed resultsFive months ago the city removed trash cans at two stations -- the Main Street/Flushing #7 station...
View ArticleCurbing Our Waste
Looking for ways to cut back the amount of garbage you're producing? We have some helpful hints!Edward Humes was on the Leonard Lopate Show on April 26 to discuss his new book Garbology: Our Dirty Love...
View ArticleRio de Janeiro Closes One of the World's Largest Garbage Dumps
Open-air garbage dumps, and the people who live off of them, have long been a symbol of the environmental and social terrors of the developing world. And for decades, one of the most symbolic of the...
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How to Clean Subway Stations: Remove Trash Cans
The NY MTA will expand a rodent-fighting pilot program to eight new subway stations after initial success from removing trash cans on platforms.The transit agency removes 40 tons of garbage every day...
View ArticleTurning Trash into Energy
Mike Hart, President and CEO of Sierra Energy, will talk about their FastOx Pathfinder, a machine that turns common trash into useable energy. While still in its infant stages of development, this...
View ArticleRubbish: Uncovering the Truth About Trash
What we throw away, where we toss it, and what gets recycled has been a concern for decades. As more and more Americans are living closer together in urban areas, the trash problem has become even...
View ArticleTo see life's oddities, you have to vist an odd place — a museum in an...
Mmuseumm, the smallest museum in New York, could probably fit in your bathroom — and its contents might not look much different from the stuff in your cabinets. That's because this museum is all about...
View ArticleThis City Councilman Wants to Charge For Un-Recycled Trash
Smaller cities across the country have been doing it for years: forcing residents to buy special garbage bags to set out on their curbs, and then taking the profits from the bags to pay for the...
View ArticleGalactic Garbage Can: There's 400,000 Pounds of Trash on The Moon
What do the following items have in common?5 American flags12 pairs of boots96 bags of urine, feces, and vomitA photograph of Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke's familyIf you guessed that these are all...
View ArticleWaste an Hour (or Two) With Us
Welcome to Garbage Day at The Leonard Lopate Show, where we explore the many facets of trash and waste in this country.The growing food waste epidemic. Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Adam Kaye, its...
View ArticleNYC Businesses Only Recycle a Fourth of Their Waste: Report
The city’s restaurants, stores and other businesses recycle far less than previously thought, according to a coalition of environmental groups and unions.According to a 2011 update to the environmental...
View ArticleRound and Round We Go
Hosts Brian Balogh and Peter Onuf call up Gary Anderson, who designed the iconic recycling symbol back when he was in college.
View ArticleCity's Fight to Retain Recyclables From Scavengers Gets Messy
New York City Councilmember Antonio Reynoso, representing New York City's 34th district (Williamsburg Bushwick, and Ridgewood, Queens), discusses the city's fight to retain recyclable items, which are...
View ArticleRound and Round We Go
Let’s just call this episode trashy. The Guys pick through America’s history of garbage - from the filth-eating pigs that once ran free in New York City and kept the city clean, to the soda industry’s...
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A Millennial's Fight to Clean Up 150 Million Pounds of Ocean Trash
Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview.Plastics, litter, and all sorts of debris have polluted our waters for years. While prevention is key, ocean cleanup also presents an important...
View ArticleOur Trouble with Trash in 1969
There were several reasons why trash was giving New Yorkers anxiety in 1969. The city was still reeling from a historic sanitation strike that at one point had left over 100,000 tons of trash on the...
View ArticleTrash Psych 101: What Will it Take to Reduce Litter in the Subway?
The MTA removes about 40 tons of trash from the subway system every day. And for the past five years, it tried to train New Yorkers to quit littering on the tracks and take their trash to go. At 39...
View ArticleTake a 360 degree stroll through a ‘Trash Mountain’
The Ghazipur landfill in New Delhi, India stretches across some 70 acres of land. The area has been dubbed “Trash Mountain” because it holds 10 million tons of garbage now piled higher than the city’s...
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Towering landfill in India spills into canal, killing 2
Rescuers worked to save people who were swept into a canal when part of the Ghazipur landfill in Delhi, India, collapsed on Sept. 1. Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesA garbage pile...
View ArticleWait, Hold That Wrapping Paper! It's Recyclable
Corrugated cardboard isn't the only thing that can go in the recycling bin. Wrapping paper can also be reused if it isn't made of foil and doesn't have any plastic bows. Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn...
View ArticleBrilliant Minds of Trash and Sewage
New York City generates 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater every day. 16 million pounds of trash. Eight million pounds of recyclables. Think of the awesome engineering and effort behind making all of...
View ArticleA Crisis In Recycling From Man Who Helped Bring it to the Nation
You want to be a good global citizen. You dutifully separate your papers and plastics, bag them up... Place them on your stoop, or in front of your house, and you wait and you trust the powers that be...
View Article330- Raccoon Resistance
After Toronto unveiled its "raccoon-resistant" compost bins in 2016, some people feared the animals would be starved, but many more celebrated the innovative design. Rolling out this novel locked bin...
View Article341- National Sword
Where does your recycling go? In most places in the U.S., you throw it in a bin, and then it gets carted off to be sorted and cleaned at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). From there, much of it is...
View Article371- Dead Cars
Everything in Bethel, Alaska comes in by cargo plane or barge, and even when something stops working, it’s often too expensive and too inconvenient to get it out again. So junk accumulates. Diane...
View ArticleMassive Waste: New York City Fails to Get a Handle on Trash
New York City produces millions of tons of trash every year. And despite repeated promises by elected officials, the city has failed to stem the tide. Politico New York has published a series looking...
View ArticleNational Politics; NYC's Recycling Woes; A Republican's Hopes for 2020 Dems;...
On today's show:Heather Caygle, Congress reporter for Politico, reports on the latest on the impeachment process and other news from CongressEach year, businesses and homes in New York City generate...
View Article371- Dead Cars
Everything in Bethel, Alaska comes in by cargo plane or barge, and even when something stops working, it’s often too expensive and too inconvenient to get it out again. So junk accumulates. Diane...
View ArticleGood Things: Treasures on Trash Night
During a pandemic bowling night is out and going to church isn't exactly kosher. But there is one weekly activity that is always outside and best enjoyed alone, or with your dog: trash picking. WNYC's...
View ArticleStooping NYC: One Person’s Trash is Another One's Treasure
We'll speak with one of the anonymous founders of Stooping NYC an Instagram account with 156,000 followers that is dedicated to sharing sidewalk trash finds. We'll also take calls from listeners.
View ArticleHighlights from Get Lit with Patricia Lockwood and John Darnielle, Full Bio:...
We air highlights from our March Get Lit with All Of It book club event with author and poet Patricia Lockwood, which took place virtually live on March 31. We spent the month reading Lockwood’s debut...
View ArticleNew York City Will Restart Curbside Composting, But Critics Say It's A Missed...
New York City is reviving its composting program, after suspending it last year. But environmental advocates say in some ways, it's a step back. Neighborhoods that had curbside compost service before...
View ArticleThe History of NYC's Trash Problem
Only 10 percent of New York City's trash waiting for pickup is stored in containers, the rest sits in trashbags piled on the street. Christopher Robbins, contributor to Streetsblog and Clare Miflin,...
View ArticleBrian Lehrer Weekend: Debating Cancel Culture; NYC's Garbage Problem; Saint...
Three segments you might have missed from this week's show:Elie Mystal and Suzanne Nossel Debate Cancel Culture (First) | The History of NYC's Trash Problems (Starts at 34:20) | The Saint Peter's...
View ArticleAs giant trash bins come to NYC, will the city’s garbage heaps become a thing...
Four container bins sitting at the corner of West 41st Street and 7th Avenue in Times Square may look simple, but they have a lofty purpose: Showing New Yorkers how the city streets could become...
View ArticleSummer Friday: (Anti-)Social Media; Ibram X. Kendi; Neil deGrasse Tyson on...
On this Summer Friday, we've put together some of our favorite recent interviews, including:It may have begun with promise, but Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist at New York University's Stern School...
View ArticleNYC Tries a New Tactic in the Battle Against Rats
Trash bags piled up on city sidewalks are "an all-you-can-eat buffet for rats," according to Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation. She talks about a plan to change...
View ArticleThe Politics of Qatar's World Cup; RSV, the Flu, and Kids; NYC Takes on Trash...
Coming up on today's show:Dan Friedman, writer, digital consultant and former Executive Editor of the Forward tells us the history of the World Cup and why it matters as some soccer fans intend to...
View ArticleNYC Takes on Trash and Rats
Last week, the mayor's office announced an increase of $14.5 million in funding for citywide cleaning operations. The 'Get Stuff Clean' initiative includes funding to clean up 'No Man's Land' areas,...
View ArticleChanges Coming to NYC Trash Collection
The city is making two major changes to trash collection: expanding composting and changing when garbage can be left on the street before pickup. Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City...
View ArticleThe fight for control in Sudan
The fight for control of Sudan. It's a match between two generals. One's been accused of committing war crimes. He also claims to be one of the richest men in Africa. Also, the arrest of controversial...
View ArticleAugust 3, 2023: Evening Roundup
New York City college students will soon start helping some migrants file their asylum applications. Plus, trash bots are helping to keep downtown Brooklyn’s Albee Square a bit cleaner. Also, public...
View ArticleAugust 18, 2023: Evening Roundup
New York City Mayor Eric Adams hopes to streamline the process for office to housing conversions. Plus, giant trash bins have arrived in Harlem. Will the new bins keep rats away or just take up space?...
View ArticleWhat to Expect From New DSNY Guidelines
As the New York City Department of Sanitation plans to ramp up its fines for restaurants and residential buildings, Sophia Chang, WNYC/Gothamist reporter, breaks down the new guidelines and their...
View ArticleSanitation Commish on Changes to Trash, Composting
The city made big changes to trash pickup earlier this year and is working on expanding composting collection citywide. Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation, talks...
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