Rats Take Another Hit as Pizza Box Trash Cans Spread Across NYC!
New Yorkers have their doubts about whether the city’s new pizza box trash bins will actually deter rats. On Friday, the NYC Parks Department introduced these new anti-rat trash cans, designed specifically to hold square pizza boxes, in several parks across the city. However, these new bins seemed to go unnoticed by parkgoers over the holiday weekend.
Chris, a 24-year-old from Queens, was at Father Demo Square in lower Manhattan, one of the five parks where the bins were introduced. He commented that the initiative seemed more like a symbolic gesture rather than a practical solution.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue announced the bins as part of Mayor Eric Adams’ “trash revolution.” The goal is to keep rats away from popular eating areas and improve cleanliness on city streets. The bins are simple tan and marked with a small sign that says, “empty pizza boxes only.”
Luis, 46, expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the bins. He pointed out that there didn’t seem to be enough information about the new bins, as he hadn’t even noticed where they were placed. He questioned if there was enough signage to make people aware of their purpose.
Currently, only six of these pizza box bins have been placed in various parks around the city. Each one is located next to regular trash and recycling bins. At Father Demo Square in Greenwich Village, the new bins have largely been ignored. On Sunday, many locals didn’t even realize the bin was there.
Esther, a 23-year-old from Brooklyn, expressed disbelief at the initiative, saying, “That’s an Eric Adams initiative. Are you serious?” Despite the presence of these new bins, patrons of the nearby Joe’s Pizza continued to throw their pizza boxes into the regular trash bins. In just 10 minutes, a Post reporter saw three different people discarding their pizza boxes in the usual trash receptacles.
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Esther also noted that the new bins’ openings are positioned low to the ground, which might still allow rats to access the contents. The bins, which cost about $950 each, are seen by some as an inadequate solution to the city’s rat problem.