Tracking My Trash

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are trash pickup days in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. On those mornings, as I walk to the subway to go to work, I pass by huge piles of trash bags along the sidewalk. By the time I return home in the evening, the bags have disappeared. That got me wondering: What happens to all my trash after I throw it away? 

I decided to find out. It turns out that disposing of New York City’s garbage and recycling is much more complex than I had ever imagined. Following the trail of my trash really opened my eyes to the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Trash is picked up three days a week in Brooklyn, New York. On those mornings, as I walk to work, I pass by huge piles of trash bags along the sidewalk. When I return home in the evening, the bags have disappeared. That got me wondering about what happens to all that trash.

I decided to find out. I learned that that disposing of New York City’s garbage and recycling is much more complex than I had ever imagined. Following the trail of my trash really opened my eyes. I now realize how important it is to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

What happens to my recycling is another story. New Yorkers are required to separate recyclables into two categories: Paper and cardboard go into one bin. Plastic, metal, and glass go into another. 

My recyclables are picked up by a different truck and taken to a recycling center nearby. From there, much of the paper and cardboard is sent to a paper mill in another part of the city, where it’s recycled into new paper, pizza boxes, and other paper products. 

Meanwhile, giant machines at the recycling center sort the glass, plastic, and metal. The glass is crushed into tiny pieces and sold to companies that turn it into new drink bottles or food jars. 

The plastic and metal is compressed into separate bales, or bundles, each weighing more than 1,000 pounds. These bales are sold to companies that convert the plastic into pellets and flatten the metal into sheets. These materials may then be sold to companies in the U.S. or in countries as far away as Asia. The plastic pellets may be used to make water bottles, toys, or even carpeting. The metal is made into soda cans and bicycles, among other products.

What happens to my recycling is another story. New Yorkers are required to separate recyclables into two categories. Paper and cardboard go into one bin. Plastic, metal, and glass go into another.

My recyclables are picked up by a different truck and taken to a recycling center nearby. From there, much of the paper and cardboard is sent to a paper mill in another part of the city, where it’s recycled into new paper, pizza boxes, and other paper products.

Meanwhile, giant machines at the recycling center sort the glass, plastic, and metal. The glass is crushed into tiny pieces. It is sold to companies that turn it into new drink bottles or food jars.

The plastic and metal is compressed into separate bales, or bundles. They each weigh more than 1,000 pounds. These bales are sold to companies. The plastic is converted into pellets. The metal is flattened into sheets. These materials may then be sold to companies in the U.S. They may also be sold to countries as far away as Asia. The plastic pellets may be used to make water bottles, toys, or even carpeting. The metal is made into soda cans and bicycles, among other products.

Until recently, I didn’t give much thought to where all my trash ends up. But experts say it’s important to educate yourself, as I have, about our trash and recycling. This can help change some of the misconceptions that many people have about the things they throw away.

“We think that as soon as I drop this piece of trash or as soon as I recycle this, it’s gone forever,” says Tom Morales. He works for Keep America Beautiful, a group whose goal is to reduce pollution.  

But as I learned, our garbage doesn’t just vanish. In New York City alone, getting rid of it costs hundreds of millions of dollars and requires trucks, ships, and trains. Trash gets dumped in landfills that will eventually fill up, so we’ll need to find new places to bury it in the future. Recycling is a better option, but only about 35 percent of all that we throw away gets recycled.  

From now on, I will think twice about what I buy and what I throw away. And I’ll keep in mind the advice of Kathryn Garcia, the head of the New York City Department of Sanitation. 

“We have an opportunity in every single decision we make to ensure there’s less waste,” she said. 

Until recently, I didn’t give much thought to where all my trash ends up. But experts say it’s important to educate yourself about trash and recycling. This can help change the misconceptions that many people have about the things they throw away.

“We think that as soon as I drop this piece of trash or as soon as I recycle this, it’s gone forever,” says Tom Morales. He works for Keep America Beautiful. That group’s goal is to reduce pollution. 

But as I learned, our garbage doesn’t just vanish. In New York City alone, getting rid of it costs hundreds of millions of dollars. It also requires trucks, ships, and trains to transport it. Trash gets dumped in landfills that will eventually fill up. So we’ll need to find new places to bury it in the future. Recycling is a better option. But only about 35 percent of all that we throw away gets recycled. 

From now on, I will think twice about what I buy and what I throw away. And I’ll keep in mind the advice of Kathryn Garcia. She is the head of the New York City Department of Sanitation.

“We have an opportunity in every single decision we make to ensure there’s less waste,” she said.  

1. What details support the idea that disposing of New York City’s garbage and recycling is complex? 

2. What happens when garbage rots in a landfill? How does it affect the environment?

3. How do the map and photos in the sidebar “Garbage on the Go” help you better understand the article?

4. What did Joe Bubar learn from tracking his trash?

1. What details support the idea that disposing of New York City’s garbage and recycling is complex? 

2. What happens when garbage rots in a landfill? How does it affect the environment?

3. How do the map and photos in the sidebar “Garbage on the Go” help you better understand the article?

4. What did Joe Bubar learn from tracking his trash?