NYC subway trash bin ban yields to better cleaning methods

NEW YORK – Faced with too much trash in one of the world’s biggest — and arguably dirtiest — subway systems, New York transit officials staged an unusual social experiment.

They removed garbage bins from 39 stations, figuring that would deter people from bringing trash into the system.

They were wrong.

It was a no-go in a go-go city where eating and drinking is often done on the run.

People kept tossing their trash on platforms and tracks, causing fires. And hungry rats kept scurrying through stations drawn by garbage.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority run by New York state decided to end the test for good, saying there were better ways to try to keep the stations clean.

The decision was made in September, but state officials are now making their final evaluations.