Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

America's largest city has a trash problem. Can it be contained?

Mar 21, 2024
Plastic trash bags, and the rats they attract, are very visible parts of the New York landscape. A plan to bring in bins may squeeze scarce space.
The sheer volume of trash New York City has to collect every day is enormous. It's "kind of an insane feat," said Larry Buchanan, a reporter with The New York Times.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

New York City's hangry rat problem has big stakes

Sep 8, 2022
Rats have burrowed their way into the heart of an economic and political fight worth many tens of millions of dollars.
A dead rat lies on the ground, hunted down by dogs of Ryders Alley Trencher-fed Society in lower Manhattan last year. Rat sightings have increased in New York City since the start of the pandemic.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

New York City turns to dry ice to control its rat population

May 23, 2019
The frozen carbon dioxide is more effective than rodenticide in some cases. But experts say cities will never eradicate rats.
New York City exterminator Joseph Rodriguez drops dry ice pellets into a rat burrow. The dry ice turns into a gas, essentially suffocating the rats with carbon dioxide.
Tracey Samuelson