Spotting trash from the sky? NYC mulls idea of drones to combat trash problem
In an effort to combat the war on trash, the NYC Department of Sanitation is looking into the idea of using drones to aid in enforcement.
More Stories
The Department of Sanitation is turning an eye to the sky for a new idea to fight the trash problem — drones.
A spokesperson for DSNY says the idea is extremely preliminary but they are investigating whether drones could be useful to monitor basic trash rules, building maintenance inspections and illegal dumpers.
Piles of boxes covered in snow litter an empty lot on the Grand Concourse.
"No one cleans up, even the person who owns the lot doesn't come and take care of their property, so yeah it's a trash problem here," said a Fordham resident who did not want to be identified.
DSNY already has a network of surveillance cameras hidden across the city to catch people who are illegally disposing of trash. The agency says it's been a tremendous success in enforcing against illegal dumping, and they are always looking for new technologies to assist in fighting the scourge.
"That's when we need the drones so they can see that (illegal dumping), we see sofas, armoires, all that on the sidewalk and in the street, it's ridiculous," said Eric Ward, who lives in Fordham.
But not everyone is in support of the new idea.
"They want to spend money on drones? they should take that money and hire more sanitation police, to do more observation about who is doing the illegal dumping, they need to take that money and hire more people to physically sweep the streets," said Sindey Flores, a community activist.
