Overflows were common and the crews worked tirelessly with time-consuming collection rounds in an effort to keep litter to a minimum.ĭepartment of Sanitation studies showed that at least 30% of material deposited in the public space waste stream was recyclable yet New York City had very few recycling bins installed across the boroughs. The Times Square Alliance (TSA) Sanitation team handled nearly 900 bags daily from traditional sidewalk garbage bins in the area spanning 8th Ave and Broadway from 41st to 53rd Streets. Michael Bloomberg, Former Mayor of New York City (2002-2013) Making recycling easier for New Yorkers will build on our work to make our entire system of solid waste management less polluting, more energy-efficient, and more sustainable, both economically and environmentally.” “We want to encourage visitors to Times Square to recycle so we are trying to make recycling easier. Today, 40% of public waste is properly recycled, 50% less time is spent collecting bins, and TSA has fully embraced Bigbelly as an innovative way to keep up with people and their waste. Times Square has since expanded their deployment to 197 smart stations with built-in compaction, fullness sensing, and collection notifications. The initial program proved a success with measurable and significant recycling diversion, productivity gains, and cleaner public spaces. This initiative deployed 30 Bigbelly smart waste and recycling stations to Times Square to encourage capture, and measure public space recycling. As a major entertainment, business, and tourist epicenter in the heart of Manhattan, former New York City Mayor Bloomberg's administration decided that it would be a perfect place to debut the city’s largest public space recycling program in 2013.

Times Square has 500,000 pedestrians passing through each day that toss out 15,300 pounds of garbage.

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