You can add the pizza box trash can to the long list of strange and useless things that can now be found across the city. Introduced as part of a larger effort to mitigate the amount of trash on the streets — an initiative that Mayor Eric Adams has dubbed the “trash revolution” — these new “anti-rat” trash bins are drawing skepticism from many New York City residents who remain doubtful of their utility.

So far, these bins have only been installed in five playgrounds, including one in the Bronx. As I have the privilege of conveniently living across the street from the playground where this new trash bin has been placed, I was able to catch a glimpse of it relatively easily. Amidst a pile of crushed plastic water bottles and dried up silly string, the pizza box trash can stood proudly from a distance, as though a diamond in the rough. Its checker-bordered design is meant to evoke the feeling of sitting in a pizza restaurant, although the trash bin’s noticeable emptiness only seemed to punctuate the futility of its existence.

But let me not get ahead of myself. The pizza box trash can certainly seems novel in concept, and despite being intended to hold such a clunky product, it takes up no more space than your average trash bin. If the problem is trash, then having a trash can meant to hold a pizza box might discourage residents from shoving their boxes into other trash bins, allowing the latter to hold other types of trash. If normal trash bins can function longer, then more trash can be thrown away. This is assuming, of course, that most New York City residents are capable of following simple directions.

In short, introducing a pizza box trash feels more comparable to slapping a Band-Aid on an issue much bigger than just putting the right trash in the right bin. Obviously, trash is a huge problem in New York City – residents produce up to 13,000 tons of trash daily. Citywide, trash is being thrown away and when this trash decomposes, it has detrimental consequences on the environment. According to the New York League of Conservation, methane, a by-product of decomposition, is “30 times more potent than carbon dioxide.”

There are other additional factors to consider when it comes to the pizza box trash can. As an example, some have astutely noted that the trash can’s design (its absurdly deep slit) just might offer easy access for city rats to crawl in and take the food. Rat infestation in New York has become a pretty serious problem as of late: a recent study found that there were approximately 3 million rats in New York — roughly one third of the city’s entire human population.

Perhaps more interestingly, many New York residents aren’t even aware that there are pizza trash cans, despite being the target demographic. New Yorkers that I have talked to (mostly friends who grew up in the city) were surprised to learn that a trash can specifically for pizza boxes was even possible, and many remarked that there were probably more efficient ways to encourage New Yorkers to throw away their trash.

I tend to lean on the same side. The city could benefit more from an improved recycling program or increased incentives to encourage residents to compost their trash. Educating residents on how to properly dispose of and sort through their garbage as well as public campaigning for reduced waste consumption could, at the very least, shed light on the issue of garbage throughout New York City in a more effective way than installing a handful of new trash cans in a few parks.

But in truth, it’s hard to appreciate the pizza box trash can for what it is because I only see what it could have been. For me, the pizza trash could very well be a metaphor for the pitfalls of the city’s decision-making. Having grown up in the city and being used to the sight of garbage bags lining every street of my neighborhood and the smell of hot trash in the summer, I yearn for a day when I can finally see a cleaner, brighter New York City. Although the pizza box trash can is, at best, a step in the right direction and, at worst, downright neglectful, I sincerely hope one day that my doubts are proven wrong and that this vision comes to fruition.

Until then, I might just grab myself a slice of pizza. Maybe I’ll even toss it in the right bin, so the pizza box trash can finally get some use.

Britney Phan, FCRH ’26, is an English major from The Bronx, N.Y.