NY Green Police Aim To Show Your Trash To The Neighbors

Watch out fellow New Yorkers, the Sanitation Department is out on the prowl and they are looking for people that are still not into this recycling thing. Apparently it is high-tech mumbo jumbo to separate plastics and newspapers in order to help save the environment. You know, the whole "act locally, think globally thing?" Well if you for some reason have trouble doing this, the Sanitation Department is coming for you in a not-so-pleasant way.

From The Gothamist:

Yesterday the NY Post warned non-recyclers that they'd have to don a "scarlet litter" if they didn't clean up their acts. We hoped this "scarlet litter" would be a hat hand-crafted by a Freegan and worn atop the heads of the environmentally-challenged, but instead it's something much more sensible: a clear bag for all of your garbage that leaves little to the imagination. New York, we don't really want to see your trash, so please try to figure out this whole recycling thing, m'kay?[...]

Last night the sanitation police surprised two Brooklyn buildings they had their eyes on. 2330 Ocean Avenue and 2540 Ocean Avenue were both previously ordered to use the clear bags because of past violations. How did they fare? Not so well. The first stop failed to use the clear bags, and while the second did, they still failed to understand the separation process. One resident at another targeted building, 2626 Kings Highway, explains, "We never tried it here - it is very complicated." How do these people do laundry?

For those who need a quick refresher course, NYCWasteLe$$ has a helpful guide, and the Commissioner of Sanitation has a list of ten ways to "give more and waste less this holiday season". With New Yorkers only separating out 17% of their trash for recycling, this new plan may help us get closer to our goal, which we are currently falling short of by 25%.

So if you don't want you creepy neighbor Tony to see what you had for dinner...and dessert the night before, take two minutes (or less) out of your day and separate what can be recycled, this isn't rocket science people.

Cleaning Your Street Has Its Perks In NYC

Do you have a car in the city? Do you hate having to move it two or three times a week so that the street cleaners can come through? Well there is salvation for all of you automobile owners, and you can thank the Sanitation Department for that (and your respect for your street as well).

From WCBS-TV:

Under a new Sanitation Department plan, neighborhoods with really, really clean streets can receive a break from one of the greatest afflictions suffered by city car owners: the dreaded alternate side of the street parking regulations.

Last month, Brooklyn Community Board 6 -- the tree-lined residential brownstone areas of Red Hook, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope—earned the parking perk by consistently scoring 90 percent or higher on the city's twice-monthly scorecard for street cleanliness.

No shifting from one side of the street to the other on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays, an unpleasant slice of urban living parodied in a classic "Seinfeld" episode.

While no other city neighborhoods yet qualify for the plan, Sanitation spokesman Vito Turso said Friday that Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace in Brooklyn have expressed an interest and the city is considering it.

I think they should consider it for all neighborhoods in the city, not just a few in Brooklyn. The only catch is to have good street-hygiene. The plan is a win-win for New Yorkers and the city by reducing the costs of using those sweeping machines. Now the only question is, will your neighbors cooperate?