Pre-spring has sprung! And the frozen slush mounds are melting (finally). But all the disappearing sidewalk snow is unveiling some truly disgusting buried garbage. And not just gum and cigarettes: orthodontic retainers, CapriSun pouches, (presumably losing) lotto tickets, and other random miscellanies. Seeing all this garbage underfoot begs the question: Where does our NYC trash go? Of the 10,000+ tons of residential waste produced daily (DAILY), about 85% of it gets exported out of the city to landfills. So what can we do about all this waste? We can start composting our organics (which comprise 35% of our garbage). We can learn more about recycling. (The regulations can be tricky, especially in NYC.) We can become generally more trash-conscious. And we can try to hold onto our orthodontic retainers - those things are expensive.