The newly designed DSNY garbage bin is slowly appearing on the streets of Harlem. The old design - a heavy, wire mesh bin, with reinforcing struts - has been on our streets for generations. In fact, DSNY out of the 23,000 litter baskets citywide DSNY has on the streets of NYC, 13,000 are these

old wire litter baskets. These baskets are easy for residents to misuse, accessible to rats, and often overflowing.

Local designers (Group Project) designed the DSNY litter basket of the future:

rat resistant, harder for the public to misuse, easier for Sanitation Workers to use, and with more volume. These Better Bins are now beginning mass production.

One key innovation drove the design both functionally and aesthetically—a modular, three-part construction. The receptacle consists of a stand, lid and recyclable plastic basket.

The stand, which stays on the street corner, serves as a home base to anchor and protect the basket. It’s designed to withstand heavy winds and the wear-and-tear of NYC streets. Perforations allow for visual inspection.

A bisected lid serves three purposes. First, it’s a hinge that opens the lid for the removal of the basket. Second, it keeps refuse in and bulky or household waste out. Third, it improves upon the current premium basket’s design, because there would not be side access doors which invite rodents (and need to be shoveled out after snowstorms).

The plastic basket is less than half the weight of the current green wire mesh receptacle. This reduction in weight lightens a Sanitation Worker’s load. Additional handles at vital touch points on the basket improve ergonomics and flexibility in use. A modular design allows DSNY to replace the most abused part, the basket, before it’s time to replace the entire receptacle, thereby lowering the overall cost.

Better Bin is better – for New Yorkers, for Sanitation Workers, and for the City.

As Seen in Harlem

The lion of Harlem.