New York Rat Sightings Down 22 Percent After Trash Bin Program
New York City is on track to record the fewest reported rat sightings since the pandemic, down 22 percent in the first seven months of 2026 compared to a year earlier, Bloomberg reported last week. Former mayor Eric Adams launched what he called a trash revolution, requiring trash bins across the five boroughs to replace plastic bags left on sidewalks. Adams appointed Kathleen Corradi as the city rat czar in early 2023. The city has an estimated one rat for every three people. Rat populations spiked during Covid when uncollected trash, takeout food, and outdoor dining sheds gave rodents more food and shelter.
The decline suggests that requiring bins instead of leaving bagged trash on streets can cut the food supply that sustains large urban rat populations.
Source: Who’s winning New York City’s war on rats: rodents or trash bins? (theguardian.com). Spotted via Good Good Good.
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