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Narrator: There is a lot of garbage produced at Disney World. Over 15 thousand tons per day in the Magic Kingdom park alone. However, you won’t see them anywhere. Magic Kingdom has a futuristic system of hidden pipes that shoots garbage out of sight at a speed of 95 km per hour.
However, Disney’s system is top secret, so we went to the only other place in the United States that deals with trash in this way and on this scale.
This is Roosevelt Island – a small piece of land in New York City between Manhattan and Queens. Garbage has been traveling through pipes there for almost 50 years. This was supposed to be the future of garbage: no more bags at the curb, no more giant trucks and no more vermin. Dozens of European cities have such systems built into their infrastructure.
So how did Disney’s magical garbage pipes end up on a tiny island in the middle of New York City? And why has this system not been adopted in the United States?
Pneumatic pipes date back to the early 19th century. They basically work like giant vacuum cleaners, using compressed air to move objects from one place to another. In the following decades, cities around the world began using pipes to deliver mail, medical supplies, banknotes, and at one point even McDonald’s. However, the goal has always been to transport people, as in “The Jetsons”.
Narrator: In 1870, Alfred Ely Beach developed the first pneumatic subway in New York. It was only one block long and was more of a proof of concept than a real idea.
When Roosevelt Island opened its doors to residents in 1975, developers had a unique opportunity to experiment with a new type of waste management. Previously, the island was home to a notorious psychiatric facility, a smallpox hospital and a prison.
Film chronicle: This prison is by far the worst in the United States.
Narrator: The island needed an image change and a solution to the garbage disposal issue. During this time, New York’s sanitation workers went on strike for nine days. More than a week went by without garbage collection and people started rioting. The system was inspired by the one at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. It had been installed there just a few years earlier and is still in use today. So how does this system work? This is the AVAC facility on Roosevelt Island.
Larry Carrickk, inżynier, Roosevelt Island: AVAC is an automated vacuum waste collection system.
Narrator: Larry Carrick has been working as an engineer on the island since 2018. He has something to do.
Larry: All this was installed and put into operation in 1974, I think. Most of the equipment is still functional. Yesterday’s working day lasted 17 hours. This is what this job looks like.
Narrator: About eight tons of garbage are transported through these pipes every day. Eventually everything will be compressed and will go to containers. The city’s cleanup service sends special trucks to pick up bins three times a day, along with bins filled with recyclable trash and items too large for the island’s AVAC system.
Garbage goes to a transfer station in Queens. There, they mix with garbage from the rest of the city and are sent to landfills or to incinerators that burn garbage to produce energy. AVAC doesn’t solve the issue of where trash goes, but it does make the process of how it gets there a lot cleaner. All this happens out of sight of the 11,000 people. island inhabitants.
Alex Tolipan, Roosevelt Island resident: I’ve lived here for five years. I found out about it two weeks ago.
Narrator: However, the AVAC system is far from perfect. Decades of wear and tear have left pipes susceptible to clogs and leaks, especially when residents don’t understand what the system can handle.
Larry: Everything you can imagine goes there. Hockey sticks.
David Stone, journalist, Roosevelt Island Daily: Someone threw a bed frame in there.
Resident: Carpets, backpacks.
Judith Berdy, president of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society: I heard someone threw in a mattress and a drawer.
Larry: Over and over again. So there’s something to laugh about.
Narrator: Solving these problems requires creative solutions.
Larry: Using this device, we try to catch the object that is causing the blockage. Once we get a good grip on it, we try to get it out.
Narrator: When it comes to major repairs, someone has to crawl inside. And these pipes are only 45 cm in diameter.
Larry: If a pipe is leaking, one of the workers goes into it. He lies down on the skateboard, rides inside and uses welding equipment to repair the hole.
David: It’s a very simple and intuitive process when it works properly. However, when it doesn’t work, it creates a stench.
Narrator: Breakdowns occur occasionally, but many residents prefer this solution to traditional garbage collection. Judith Berdy moved here in 1977, two years after the island opened to residents. She is president of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society and has written a book on the subject.
Judith: What a great book. I think I’ll read it.
Narrator: Judith says she can’t imagine any other way to take out the garbage.
Judith: There’s no way I want traditional trash pickup. I love that there is no trash on the street.
Larry: You won’t see any rats here.
Narrator: In other parts of the world, AVAC systems are more modern. In Norway, these different containers separate garbage from recyclables. In Sweden and Spain, some of the containers are even fully automated.
So why can’t Americans just throw garbage down the pipe? The main reason is, of course, money. Maintaining these systems is complex and expensive. Moreover, private developers have no incentive to invest in this type of infrastructure. This man who builds these systems compares them to a sewer line.
Carlos Bernad, Regional Manager, Envac: How often would you have to flush the toilet to make the investment worthwhile? This is the basic function you use. Narrator Installing such systems is complicated, if not impossible. It requires the demolition of buildings to lay pipes underground. This is especially difficult in New York.
Nicole Doz, Superintendent, New York City Sanitation Services: Manhattan has a huge underground system consisting of subways, gas networks, and electricity grids, so implementing an AVAC system like the one on Roosevelt Island would be impossible.
Narrator: At the Polo Grounds in Harlem, however, the New York City Housing Authority is trying to implement this system.
Juliette Spetrus, urban designer, New York City Housing Authority: There is no one-size-fits-all approach. In the case of dense buildings and high-rise buildings, collecting garbage using this system can save a lot of space at the curbs.
Narrator: For the first time in half a century, an AVAC system will be installed in the city. The project will cost approximately $31 million. and it will be used by 4,000 residents from four different buildings. It is expected to be completed by summer 2024. If the project is successful, it could serve as a model for the rest of the city and the country. Swedish company Envac has designed systems on Roosevelt Island and for Disney and is looking to expand its operations in America.
Carlos: We believe that the potential market in the US is very large. However, we still have a long way to go. We know it won’t be easy.
Narrator: Roosevelt Island may not be the garbage-free utopia that residents were promised decades ago. The AVAC system has seen progress that may cause people to rethink how they dispose of waste and the infrastructure behind it.
Larry: Someone has to put in the time and someone else has to have the technology. It can’t be like it is now. Someone has to keep putting money into modernizing and making positive changes.
