Councilwoman trashing Mayor’s removal of Jersey City litter baskets

Jersey City Ward E Councilwoman Eleana Little is calling on the city administration to reverse course and restore public trash cans in residential neighborhoods after the city removed them as part of a new municipal pilot program.

An online petition is circulating to pressure municipal officials to bring back the litter baskets.

Jersey City recently launched a pilot program that removed 65 public litter baskets, about five percent of the city’s 1,300 total trash bins, to test collection efficiency and reduce litter.

Mayor James Solomon’s administration removed bins in certain residential and busy pedestrian areas to test whether fewer baskets would reduce overall dumping and conserve municipal resources.

The initiative, launched to shift trash collection duties from a private contractor to in-house public works employees, removed public litter baskets from residential blocks to focus collection on commercial corridors and main thoroughfares.

The sudden disappearance of the bins has sparked widespread frustration among residents. Little noted that constituents have reported a sharp uptick in street litter, uncollected dog waste, and fewer convenient places to dispose of everyday trash.

“We’re calling on the administration to bring back public trash cans in our residential neighborhoods,” Little said. “While keeping our busiest streets clean is important, our residential neighborhoods deserve the same attention.”

Little emphasized that access to basic sanitation infrastructure is an equity issue that should extend to every corner of the municipality.

“Everyone deserves to live in a clean neighborhood, regardless of where they live in Jersey City,” Little said, urging the city to listen to neighborhood feedback and adjust its sanitation strategy.

In response to the removals, local leaders and residents have launched petitions demanding that City Hall restore the bins, pointing out that residential areas often double as foot-traffic zones for local businesses.

Organizers are asking residents to log intersections missing trash cans to compile a comprehensive list for upcoming advocacy efforts.

The city administration has defended the pilot as a step toward streamlining municipal operations, but critics argue that removing bins creates compounding health, safety, and cleanliness hazards on neighborhood sidewalks and gutters.

“The city is taking a holistic look at all of our trash and litter collections to ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible, and part of this pilot is to see if removing the baskets actually reduces trash and litter,” said a Solomon spokesperson.

Little also recently expressed concerns about the departures of Solomon’s senior staff.

Communications Director Nathaniel Styer left the administration in September, which was followed by the resignations of Finance Director Bill Viqueira, Deputy Mayor Keshav Poddar, Digital Director Megan Malloy, and Corporation Counsel Sarah Levine.

“I am deeply concerned about the recent departures from City Hall and how they will affect the day-to-day operations of city government,” Little said in the statement. “The Council relies on the Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Mayor, and Corporation Counsel for guidance, so any abrupt transition hurts our ability to do our jobs and deliver for residents.”

Observers say Little has not declared war on Solomon, but she is a political ally whose recent statements publicly challenging the administration’s handling of the staff shake up and arbitrary sanitation decisions should get the mayor’s attention.