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Interactive Map: Which NYC Neighborhoods Produce The Most Trash?
By
Aaron Marks
Published Feb 1, 2013
Modified Feb 1, 2013
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By
Aaron Marks
Published Feb 1, 2013
Modified Feb 1, 2013
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We already know that Williamsburg won't STFU and the East Village can't stop peeing in public . Today we ask: Which NYC neighborhoods not only act the trashiest but actually PRODUCE the most trash? Using the most recent data available from the Sanitation Department (covering 2011), we took a look at where the garbage piles up most.
Despite what you may see on a Saturday night in the East Village, the neighborhood is one of the least trashy in the city: CB3 residents averaged just 47 pounds of refuse and recycling per person, monthly. The neighborhood was bested only by East Harlem, whose CB11 residents generated on average 43.5 pounds of waste per month.

The rest of Manhattan and Brooklyn is a fairly, ahem, mixed bag. In North Brooklyn, the DSNY collected an average 60-65 pounds of refuse and recycling per month from Williamsburg and Bushwick residents. As you head towards Prospect Park—a.k.a. family territory—waste starts to accumulate rapidly, with the DSNY collecting 70-75 pounds per person per month in those neighborhoods. Manhattanites aren't much cleaner than their south Brooklyn counterparts, with the UWS and UES generating around 70 pounds per person, monthly, in 2011.
But the worst offenders in the city by far are Staten Islanders. Residents in their three community districts generated anywhere from 85-100 pounds of waste per person per month—more than twice as much garbage as their East Village counterparts.
Whether you live in Staten Island or on Avenue B, you can pat yourself on the back for being less trashy than the rest of the nation, as the average American generates about 130 pounds of waste per month . And if, as it looks, areas with smaller residences generate less trash, coming years should be green ones for the city once we all move into our micro-apartments.
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