MTA Kicking More Trash Cans At Subway Stations

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Starting Sunday, the MTA will remove trash cans from two subway stations each in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens as part of a six-month trial period aimed at reducing the rodent population. NY1's Tina Redwine filed the following report.

It would seem to defy logic: taking trash cans out of subway stations to make the stations cleaner. But the MTA said a pilot program it launched at two stations last October has done exactly that.

"It did reduce trash," said MTA Executive Director Joseph Lhota. "I’m one of those people who believes we need to expand the experiment to now we’re going up to ten different stops to see if we have the same results."

The MTA said after it removed garbage cans from the Eighth Street N and R station in Manhattan and the Flushing-Main Street stop on the 7 line, both stations had less garbage as well as fewer rats and track fires.

But riders we spoke with at Eighth Street said they don't see an improvement.

"If you look at the train tracks, there's a lot of garbage," said one.

"I don't want to carry my pear up to the trash can on the street," said a second. "I'm going to get rid of it here."

He wouldn't toss the pear in front of us. But you can readily tell riders are still littering at the two test stations.

Still, the MTA said since the pilot started, it's had to haul half as much trash from Eighth Street and just a quarter of what it used to remove from Main Street.

So, starting on Sunday, the MTA will add several stations to the pilot.

Trash cans are being removed from:
• Bronx: 238th Street station on the 1 line, East 143rd Street station on 6 line.
• Manhattan: 57th Street station on the F line, Rector Street station on the 1 line.
• Brooklyn: 7th Avenue station on the F/G lines, Brighton Beach station on the Q line.
• Queens: 111th Street station on the A line, 65th Street station on the M/R lines.

Riders at some of these stations said the MTA is dreaming if it thinks it can teach the public to carry out its garbage.

"That don't make no sense to me," said one.

"Come on," said a second. "You know how people are. They don't care."

But some thought thought it had merit.

"At least they're trying change, so that's good," said one.

The expanded program starts on Sunday. So when you go back to work after Labor Day and use one of the pilot stations, make sure to carry out what you carry in.