The documentary explores the journey of New York City's 3.2 million tons of trash per year, from collection to disposal. The trash is picked up by the Department of Sanitation's 2,000 garbage trucks and taken to marine transfer stations, where it is loaded onto barges and transported to waste-to-energy facilities in New Jersey or other states. The facilities burn the trash to generate electricity, with some of the energy powering the facilities themselves and the rest powering homes in the region.
The documentary highlights the complexity and cost of the process, with the city spending hundreds of millions of dollars per year to export its trash. It also notes that despite efforts to reduce waste, only about 30% of the city's trash is converted into energy, with the rest ending up in landfills as far away as South Carolina and Ohio.
The film also delves into the history of New York City's waste management, from the establishment of the Department of Sanitation in 1881 to the current practice of exporting trash. It suggests that the best solution to the city's waste problem would be to reduce waste altogether, and encourages viewers to think more about what happens to their trash after it is thrown away.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. New York City's waste is not processed in the city, but instead is sent to other states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.
2. The city's Department of Sanitation sends its fleet of 2,000 garbage trucks to pick up trash starting at 5 a.m.
3. Frank, a 23-year veteran sanitation worker, says that after years on the job, he no longer smells the garbage, but rather "smells money."
4. The trash is taken to a dump station on the Upper East Side, where it is weighed and radiation detectors check for hazardous materials.
5. The trash is then moved to containers beneath the ground, where it is packed and sealed to minimize odor.
6. The containers are picked up by a crane and put on a barge, which carries 48 containers at a time.
7. The barge is towed by a tugboat, which navigates through the East River and New York Harbor to Staten Island.
8. The trash is then transferred to a train, which takes it to a waste-to-energy facility.
9. The facility processes up to a million tons of waste annually and generates enough energy to power 46,000 homes.
10. The incinerators burn the trash at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and the leftover ash is used to cover landfills.
11. The facility also uses a magnet to pull out metal, which is enough to make 21,000 cars.
12. The city hopes to become zero waste to landfill by 2030, but currently only about 30% of its waste turns into energy.
13. The rest of the waste ends up in landfills, often in other states, at a cost of around $400 million per year.
14. The Department of Sanitation was established in 1881 to clean up the city's streets, which were notoriously filthy at the time.
15. In the early 1900s, the city turned to dumping trash into the ocean, but was forced to stop in 1934 due to a Supreme Court case.
16. In the 1970s, incinerators were closed down due to EPA clean air standards, and landfills were opened across the five boroughs.
17. The city has tried various methods to deal with its waste, including building landfills and exporting trash to other states.
18. The current solution is to keep exporting trash, but the department says the best solution would be to get New Yorkers to waste less altogether.