New York City Announces New Garbage Sit-Out Schedule After Rat Sightings Increases By 71 Percent: “This Is Not Ratatouille”

New York City has announced a new plan for how citizens remove their trash and garbage after the population of rats reached stunning numbers.

Now, citizens will have a schedule for when they can have their trash left on the curb outside. Starting April 1, 2023, New Yorkers can only leave their trash out after 8 p.m. instead of 4 p.m.

“This will reduce the amount of time that trash is on the street before collection, keeping our streets cleaner for a longer period of time and discouraging rodents from running their own version of what we like to say open restaurants,” said Mayor Eric Adams during a press conference, CBS News reports. “Fighting crime, fighting inequality, fighting rats is something that we are focused on as we continue to make this city a livable city,” Adams said.

This all comes as part of a mission to keep the city’s streets cleared out for people to use. According to New York City Councilmember Scott Abreu, there’s been a 71 percent jump in rat sightings since 2020.

“Every day, [New Yorkers] see rats in their streets, playgrounds, subways and even homes,” Abreu said at the press conference, CBS News reports. “This is not Ratatouille. Rats are not our friends.”

In addition to the new trash schedule, the city will be trying out the use of garbage containers, even though most of the city already uses them, the news platform reports.