NYC Rolls Out Custom Pizza Box Trash Bins To Tackle Trash And Rat Problem

Besides the Ninja Turtles, pretty much all New Yorkers have a contentious relationship with the city’s rat problem.

It’s been a long time coming, but NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue finally delivered some good news in the city’s ongoing battle against rats. Earlier this month, the first of six new square trash bins—designed to fit pizza boxes and costing about $950 each—was installed in Father Demo Square, Greenwich Village. The remaining customized bins will be rolled out in the coming weeks.

“We all know that you shouldn’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole, which is why we’re deploying special trash cans just for pizza boxes to parks throughout the five boroughs,” Donoghue said.

Arguably the pizza capital of the world, there were several initiatives already launched earlier this year focused on the pizza box crisis. Finance bro turned restaurateur such as Sean Feeny, owner of Fini Pizza in Brooklyn, took charge by leading his personal “Clean Streets” movement and installing special pizza box trash cans around his restaurant. The city’s Central Park Conservancy even tested a new pizza box recycling initiative placing the specialized bins near a popular picnic area behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art in May. 

What we see as trash, our furry foes feast on, treating it like gourmet leftovers from some of the best restaurants and food vendors in the world. While these new bins may cut off rats’ pizza cravings, New Yorkers will likely be happier with fewer pizza boxes littering the streets—and hopefully fewer rodent sightings too.