New York Hires McKinsey for Containerization Study

The New York city has hired the controversial consulting firm McKinsey & Company to study its waste containerization needs and design a citywide pilot program, Streetsblog has learned. From the report: For the next 20 weeks, the global management consulting firm will assess streets across the city with an eye toward what could work in a large, diverse urban environment and identify models for a such as program from among the many different solutions around the world -- working with the Sanitation Department to figure out the kinds of containers it needs, find appropriate vendors, and structure costs. New York is decades behind other world capitals in terms of waste collection and containerization, so there are many models from which to choose. (Barcelona and other cities have underground trash bins that are lifted out for collection.) The goal is for McKinsey to design a request for proposal that can ensure that "it is not just another pilot, but something that can actually work all over the city," DSNY spokesman Joshua Goodman said. "In other words, in a matter of months, we will have a final, market-ready Request for Proposals -- including recommended commercial terms, performance requirements, and specifications. The details on widespread, scalable containerization in New York City are finally almost here."

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