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May 14 2024

NYC Trash: A study in persistence

58 min 3 movies discussed
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Taking care of 12,000 tons of residential trash every day is a hard job. But how does that even work? Listen in to marvel at the NYC sanitation system.

AI Summary

Josh and Chuck dive into the surprisingly complex world of New York City's trash problem, exploring how the Big Apple generates a staggering amount of garbage daily and the ongoing battle to keep the streets clean. They trace the history from old colonial laws banning "tubs of odor and nastyness" to the current ambitious efforts by Mayor Eric Adams and sanitation commissioner Jessica Tisch to finally solve NYC's persistent waste management crisis. The episode covers everything from George Waring's successful 1890s cleanup campaign to why New York still relies on trash bags sitting on sidewalks while other cities have moved on to more advanced garbage collection systems.


Movies Discussed

Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York
2002 2h 48m
★ 7.3
"Scorsese's Gangs of New York probably did one of the closest, truest depictions of early New York" — Chuck
Star Wars
Star Wars
1977 2h 1m
★ 8.2
"it's essentially like that trash compactor in Star Wars, the first one" — Josh
The Sopranos: Behind-The-Scenes
The Sopranos: Behind-The-Scenes
2015 1h 54m
★ 9.5
"Wasn't Tony Soprano in Sanitation? Or didn't he say he was?" — Chuck

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