The Department of Sanitation is looking to limit the amount of time trash bags can sit on the sidewalks.

New Yorkers who are fed up with the dirty streets could expect a proposed rule change that would not allow black garbage bags on the streets before 8 p.m. The current set out time is 4 p.m.

For those who want to set out the trash earlier, people would be required to use a bin with a secure lid. Residential trash could then be put out at 6 p.m. Commercial trash could go out an hour before the business closes.

DSNY says it's already started eliminating waste by collecting trash on the midnight shift in order to have clean streets before people wake up.

"Rush hour shouldn’t be trash hour. New Yorkers put millions of pounds of trash and recycling on the street starting at 4 p.m. and then it stays out, serving as a nightclub for rats and other pests until it’s collected. Well soon, we’re going to try to shut the club down,” says Joshua Goodman, assistant commissioner for public affairs.

The plan comes just a few weeks after several council members announced a Rat Action Plan to deal with the nearly 2 million rats on the streets of New York City.

The Department of Sanitation tells News 12 these rules would be subject to a public comment period and would take about two to six months to go into effect if passed.

Do you think the new trash pick-up proposal will help keep city streets clean? Vote in our poll here.