everydaytrash

On Monday of this fabulous long weekend just past, I made the long overdue journey out to Staten Island to visit my aunt. I took the ferry and, for the first time in many moons, sat upstairs and outside to enjoy the views as I floated on.  It was such a beautiful day that I didn’t even mind the throngs of tourists and fleet week sailors crowding the decks.

On my way to Whitehall terminal to catch the boat, I bought an iced tea and drank it on the Subway platform. I took my last sip as my train rolled in and, smiling to myself, decided to hang on to the bottle so that I could deposit it in the brand new recycling bins at the ferry terminal, then blog and boast about it here.

I did, and here it is.  The bins, as promised, were easy to spot as I entered the ferry terminal, neatly color coded to separate paper from plastic and glass.  On the way home, however, it occurred to me that there are no bins ON the boat, or upstairs in the terminal—meaning that anything purchased on the ferry or while waiting for it to arrive is much less convenient to recycle.  You would have to know they’re there. 

Baby steps, I know.  Next time I take a ride, I’ll ask whether the concession stand recycles any of those beer bottles.   

The city announced for the third time yesterday (after similar announcements in 1991 and 2004) that Staten Island’s solid waste will be hauled by train instead of truck, thus reducing traffic and air pollution on the island. Just as soon as they finish building it.

You gotta hand it to DSNY Commissioner Doherty, though. The man must be a bundle of energy, what with his socializing with recycling characters and city officials and enthusiastic media interviews and ribbon-cutting obligations, it’s a wonder he has time to draft long term plans for the city’s garbage. I wonder if he’s on the football team.

Looks like the everydaytrash rant slamming Staten Islanders and the city’s pilot program recycling bins are making the rounds through the blogosphere. Check out this ferry blog, they’ve also been following the woes of pilot program. In another linking post, The Gothamist reports that Union Square got a visit from NYC trash celebs today and links to a new city web site dedicated to reducing trash.

  If, like me, you’ve been neglecting your extended family on Staten Island, you may not have noticed the recent installment of recycling bins at the ferry terminals.  It appears that the City is running a pilot program to see if putting receptacles in public spaces might encourage New Yorkers to recycle.

The DSNY news release cites:

“Many of us pick up a newspaper and a drink for the ferry ride across the harbor, so placing the recycling bins in the terminals is a great idea,” said Commissioner Weinshall.  “I encourage everyone to drop their recyclables in these bins and help keep our new terminals clean.”

During the pilot, which will officially begin on Monday, April 2nd, blue and green recycling bins will be placed in and around the Whitehall and Saint George Staten Island Ferry terminals, as well as Poe Park in the Bronx, Columbus Park in Brooklyn, Union Square Park in Manhattan, Hoffman Park in Queens, and Tappen Park and Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island. 

While this appears to be a fantastic idea, I can’t help but notice that three of the pilot sites are on Staten Island and that the Staten Island ferry terminal in Manhattan is a fourth.  This makes me nervous.  Having lived on Staten Island—and having taken the ferry during the unglamorous morning commuting hours and the even less glamorous weekend bar rush hours—I don’t think I’m being all that prejudiced when I say this recycling expansion is screwed.

Things I have seen in or around the Staten Island ferry terminals:

• A man sitting on a newspaper vending machine, swinging his legs and waving a hand gun.
• Pigeons riding escalators.
• Tired MTA workers on their way home.
• The sons and daughters of transit workers, firemen, immigrants and mafiosi pouring off of boats and stepping onto Manhattan Island.
• The sons and daughters of transit workers, firemen, immigrants and mafiosi crowding around the doors as the next boat pulls in, wishing for the day and commute to be over.
• Drunks bickering over polished wooden bench seats.
• Pacing hookers.
• Bright-eyed young tourist couples excited for a free boat ride and a view of the Statue of Liberty.

Things I have never seen in or around Whitehall and St. George terminals:

• Someone who looks like he’s about to recycle the bottle in that brown paper sack.