To ensure compliance with trash laws, NYC considers deploying drones
Sanitation department spokesperson Joshua Goodman confirmed the agency is exploring how drones could bolster enforcement of cleanliness rules such as illegal dumping, or setting out trash for pickup earlier than allowed. If implemented, the drones would represent a new use of the technology championed by Mayor Eric Adams, despite civil liberties concerns about omnipresent eyes in the sky. The NYPD has embraced drones, using the devices to monitor protests, discourage subway surfing and apprehend suspects more than 2,800 times in the first three quarters of 2024 alone, according to city reports.
Goodman said that drones could be useful tools for boosting quality of life in neighborhoods dealing with scofflaw dumpers, litterbugs and people who leave “ghost cars” with bogus license plates – or no plates at all – on the street.
“How does it feel when there's trash on the same street every single day? How does it feel when there's a ghost car parked on the same block every single day?” he said.
