NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — NYC Parks deployed a new weapon in the city’s War on Rats on Friday, setting up pizza box-shaped trash receptacles in five popular parks to make disposing of the cumbersome packaging easier.
The new bins, designed to pay homage to the classic red-and-white checkered tablecloths of New York pizza joints, are meant to reduce trash can overflow by providing people dedicated containers for their bulky pizza boxes, which sometimes cause blockages in traditional circular bins.
“Few things are more quintessentially New York than enjoying a slice of pizza in one of our public parks,” NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said. “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.”
Disposing of food waste and empty boxes separately will also reduce the food sources available to rats, which is why the bins include language stating “empty pizza boxes only.”
According to vice president for park maintenance and facilities at the Central Park Conservancy, Margaret Asaro, the first pizza box recycling bin was piloted in Central Park this summer and early results have showed less jammed bins, less surrounding litter and more recycled cardboard.
NYC Parks Deputy Commissioner and COO Mark Focht told Gothamist that each bin retails for about $950.
A total of six receptacles have been installed in five parks, including Father Demo Square in Manhattan, Saratoga Park in Brooklyn, Sobelsohn Playground in Queens, Loreto Playground in the Bronx and Jennifer’s Playground in Staten Island.
“Pizza Rat will find no quarter in city parks soon enough, thanks to these pizza-ready trash cans,” Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said. “This is yet another creative way the Adams administration is improving quality of life for people, not pests.”