A pile of trash bags sits on a street corner in New York City.

David Grossman/Alamy Stock Photo (trash pile); Bianca Alexis (Joe Bubar)

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Tracking My Trash

A Scholastic News reporter investigates what happens to all his garbage and recyclables. 

April 9, 2018
By Joe Bubar

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are trash pickup days in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. On those mornings, as I walk to the subway to go to work, I pass by huge piles of trash bags along the sidewalk. By the time I return home in the evening, the bags have disappeared. That got me wondering: What happens to all my trash after I throw it away? 

I decided to find out. It turns out that disposing of New York City’s garbage and recycling is much more complex than I had ever imagined. Following the trail of my trash really opened my eyes to the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Trash is picked up three days a week in Brooklyn, New York. On those mornings, as I walk to work, I pass by huge piles of trash bags along the sidewalk. When I return home in the evening, the bags have disappeared. That got me wondering about what happens to all that trash.

I decided to find out. I learned that that disposing of New York City’s garbage and recycling is much more complex than I had ever imagined. Following the trail of my trash really opened my eyes. I now realize how important it is to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Traveling Trash

iStock/Getty Images

Each day, Americans throw away enough trash to fill 59,000 garbage trucks.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

New York City is home to more than 8 million people, far more than any other city in the U.S. It’s no surprise then that it also produces the most waste of any city—more than 14 million tons a year! That averages out to about 3,300 pounds of trash per person. 

All my regular trash (everything that isn’t recycled) is eventually dumped in a landfill. But the last landfill in New York City closed in 2001, so all the city’s trash must be sent elsewhere. 

That process starts when my garbage is picked up by one of more than 2,000 trucks operated by the New York City Department of Sanitation. The truck takes my trash to a transfer station in another part of Brooklyn. From there, my garbage is dumped onto a barge and transported to a facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey (see “Garbage on the Go,” below). The trash is then loaded onto a train. It either heads north to Fairport, New York, or south to Waverly, Virginia. In both cases, the final destination is a landfill more than 300 miles from my home.   

At landfills, trash is covered with dirt. More layers of trash and soil will be added over many years. Much of that trash won’t decompose for decades—or even longer. For example, some experts say a plastic trash bag may take 1,000 years to decompose.

When garbage rots, it releases a greenhouse gas called methane. Having too much methane in the atmosphere can be bad for the environment. The landfills where my trash goes have systems for capturing most of that gas—though hundreds of landfills in the U.S. don’t. At the landfill in Fairport, the captured gas is converted into energy that helps power more than 10,000 homes.

New York City is home to more than 8 million people. That is far more people than live in any other U.S. city.  New York City also produces the most waste of any city—more than 14 million tons a year! That is an average of about 3,300 pounds of trash per person.

My regular trash is everything that isn’t recycled. That trash is eventually dumped in a landfill. But the last landfill in New York City closed in 2001. So all the city’s trash must be sent elsewhere.

That process starts when a truck picks up my garbage. It is one of more than 2,000 trucks run by the New York City Department of Sanitation. The truck takes my trash to a transfer station in another part of Brooklyn. From there, my garbage is dumped onto a barge. It is then transported to a facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey (see “Garbage On the Go,” below). The trash is then loaded onto a train. It goes either to Fairport, New York, or to Waverly, Virginia. Either way, the destination is a landfill more than 300 miles from my home.  

At landfills, trash is covered with dirt. More layers of trash and soil will be added over many years. Much of that trash won’t decompose for decades—or even longer. For example, some experts say a plastic trash bag may take 1,000 years to decompose.

When garbage rots, it releases a greenhouse gas called methane. Having too much methane in the atmosphere can be bad for the environment. The landfills where my trash goes have systems for capturing most of that gas. But hundreds of landfills in the U.S. don’t. At the landfill in Fairport, the captured gas is converted into energy. That energy helps power more than 10,000 homes.

Sorting Recyclables

What happens to my recycling is another story. New Yorkers are required to separate recyclables into two categories: Paper and cardboard go into one bin. Plastic, metal, and glass go into another. 

My recyclables are picked up by a different truck and taken to a recycling center nearby. From there, much of the paper and cardboard is sent to a paper mill in another part of the city, where it’s recycled into new paper, pizza boxes, and other paper products. 

Meanwhile, giant machines at the recycling center sort the glass, plastic, and metal. The glass is crushed into tiny pieces and sold to companies that turn it into new drink bottles or food jars. 

The plastic and metal is compressed into separate bales, or bundles, each weighing more than 1,000 pounds. These bales are sold to companies that convert the plastic into pellets and flatten the metal into sheets. These materials may then be sold to companies in the U.S. or in countries as far away as Asia. The plastic pellets may be used to make water bottles, toys, or even carpeting. The metal is made into soda cans and bicycles, among other products.

What happens to my recycling is another story. New Yorkers are required to separate recyclables into two categories. Paper and cardboard go into one bin. Plastic, metal, and glass go into another.

My recyclables are picked up by a different truck and taken to a recycling center nearby. From there, much of the paper and cardboard is sent to a paper mill in another part of the city, where it’s recycled into new paper, pizza boxes, and other paper products.

Meanwhile, giant machines at the recycling center sort the glass, plastic, and metal. The glass is crushed into tiny pieces. It is sold to companies that turn it into new drink bottles or food jars.

The plastic and metal is compressed into separate bales, or bundles. They each weigh more than 1,000 pounds. These bales are sold to companies. The plastic is converted into pellets. The metal is flattened into sheets. These materials may then be sold to companies in the U.S. They may also be sold to countries as far away as Asia. The plastic pellets may be used to make water bottles, toys, or even carpeting. The metal is made into soda cans and bicycles, among other products.

A New View of Trash

Until recently, I didn’t give much thought to where all my trash ends up. But experts say it’s important to educate yourself, as I have, about our trash and recycling. This can help change some of the misconceptions that many people have about the things they throw away.

“We think that as soon as I drop this piece of trash or as soon as I recycle this, it’s gone forever,” says Tom Morales. He works for Keep America Beautiful, a group whose goal is to reduce pollution.  

But as I learned, our garbage doesn’t just vanish. In New York City alone, getting rid of it costs hundreds of millions of dollars and requires trucks, ships, and trains. Trash gets dumped in landfills that will eventually fill up, so we’ll need to find new places to bury it in the future. Recycling is a better option, but only about 35 percent of all that we throw away gets recycled.  

From now on, I will think twice about what I buy and what I throw away. And I’ll keep in mind the advice of Kathryn Garcia, the head of the New York City Department of Sanitation. 

“We have an opportunity in every single decision we make to ensure there’s less waste,” she said. 

Until recently, I didn’t give much thought to where all my trash ends up. But experts say it’s important to educate yourself about trash and recycling. This can help change the misconceptions that many people have about the things they throw away.

“We think that as soon as I drop this piece of trash or as soon as I recycle this, it’s gone forever,” says Tom Morales. He works for Keep America Beautiful. That group’s goal is to reduce pollution. 

But as I learned, our garbage doesn’t just vanish. In New York City alone, getting rid of it costs hundreds of millions of dollars. It also requires trucks, ships, and trains to transport it. Trash gets dumped in landfills that will eventually fill up. So we’ll need to find new places to bury it in the future. Recycling is a better option. But only about 35 percent of all that we throw away gets recycled. 

From now on, I will think twice about what I buy and what I throw away. And I’ll keep in mind the advice of Kathryn Garcia. She is the head of the New York City Department of Sanitation.

“We have an opportunity in every single decision we make to ensure there’s less waste,” she said.  

Garbage on the Go

This map shows what happens to the non-recyclable trash that Joe Bubar throws away each week.

Paul Goguen/Bloomberg via Getty Images (statue of liberty); JOHN KUNTZ/AP Photo (landfill); JIM MCMAHON/MAPMAN® (map)

Left: A tugboat pushes a garbage barge past the Statue of Liberty.

Right: About 54 percent of the trash we throw away ends up in landfills like this one.


Garbage on the Go

This map shows what happens to the non-recyclable trash that Joe Bubar throws away each week.

Paul Goguen/Bloomberg via Getty Images (statue of liberty); JOHN KUNTZ/AP Photo (landfill); JIM MCMAHON/MAPMAN® (map)


Left: A tugboat pushes a garbage barge past the Statue of Liberty.

Right: About 54 percent of the trash we throw away ends up in landfills like this one.

1. What details support the idea that disposing of New York City’s garbage and recycling is complex? 

2. What happens when garbage rots in a landfill? How does it affect the environment?

3. How do the map and photos in the sidebar “Garbage on the Go” help you better understand the article?

4. What did Joe Bubar learn from tracking his trash?

1. What details support the idea that disposing of New York City’s garbage and recycling is complex? 

2. What happens when garbage rots in a landfill? How does it affect the environment?

3. How do the map and photos in the sidebar “Garbage on the Go” help you better understand the article?

4. What did Joe Bubar learn from tracking his trash?

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