How to Fix New York City’s $500M Trash Problem | WSJ Pro Perfected (Level 1)

New York City has a problem with trash. Every year, the city makes nearly three million tons of trash. For many years, people put garbage in plastic bags on the street. These bags attracted rats and blocked sidewalks. Now the city is changing this. It is putting garbage in strong, closed containers. Special trucks with mechanical arms lift and empty these containers. Workers do not have to lift heavy bags. Businesses have used these closed bins since March 2024. Next year, the city will add them to more neighborhoods. By 2031, all of New York City will use containers. The bags were easy for rats to open, so the containers help keep rats away. The city also spends about 500 million dollars each year to send trash far away. In the future, robots may sort trash and find useful materials to recycle. This could mean less trash leaves the city.