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Mapping the long Journey of NYC solid waste

New York City generated over 3 million tons of household waste in 2015. This map follows its journey from the street curb to the other side of the world.

https://blueshift.io/nyc-waste.html

New York City generated over 3 million tons of household waste in 2015. This map follows its journey from the street curb to the other side of the world.

Non-recyclable waste is collected at the curb and deposited at a waste transfer station.

Paper and metal/glass/plastic recyclables are each collected separately and brought to handling and recovery facilities, where the material will be separated.

From there, non-recyclable waste is shipped to a landfill or waste-to-energy plant.

Paper and metal/glass/plastic recyclables are sold to domestic and international recyclers, often in China or India.

Total cost for collection and disposal: approximately $1.5 billion.

Each day, New York’s public garbage trucks collect nearly 7,000 tons of residential mixed solid waste. After finishing their routes, most of these trucks will deposit the garbage in one of New York’s waste transfer stations located throughout the City. From there, the garbage will eventually be loaded onto a barge or a train and carried as far as 600 miles away to its final stop. For most of New York’s mixed solid waste (about 80% of it by tonnage), this last stop will be a landfill. The remaining 20% will end up at a waste-to-energy plant, where it will be incinerated and converted into energy.

Via metrocosm

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