Trash Problem on the Brooklyn Bridge
There’s been quite a peculiar trend emerging in Brooklyn lately. It seems that tourists have taken to leaving bits of garbage on the Brooklyn Bridge, creating an unusual sight as they attach whatever they can find on their person to the railing.
The fence at a central point of the bridge is now frequently adorned with dirty tissues, hair ties, condoms, tampons, and even undergarments—an overwhelming amount that even diligent cleaners find hard to keep up with.
“We just stumbled upon it after getting excited about the bridge,” shared Helen Barton from Birmingham, England. Her daughters and a friend decided to use their hair ties, or “bobbles,” as part of this curious display.
“It’s what we had on hand, so we thought it fit!”
The group hadn’t known about this trend before their visit, but they found themselves eager to participate.
“We can leave something here to show that we’re here,” remarked 13-year-old Amélie, with her sister Jess, 11, commenting that the resulting mess looked “real.”
This troubling phenomenon has come and gone over the years but has notably intensified recently, coinciding with cold snaps and heavy snow that have drawn the city’s attention elsewhere. Local residents are now calling for action, urging people to pitch in to clear away the unsightly refuse.
“I walk across the bridge nearly every day, and one day I thought, ‘That’s enough!’” said Ellen Baum from Prospect Heights, who documented her cleanup efforts on social media since February 3rd.
It takes Baum about 90 minutes to clear a small section of the fence, yet new visitors keep tying refuse as she works.
Baum, 37, mentioned encountering skeptics who argue that this trash wall has become a form of global art.
“I strongly disagree. The conversations that happen on the bridge are art. The bridge itself is art. There’s no need for literal trash,” she expressed.
“Monuments and landmarks shouldn’t invite such behavior. I love many things in my life, but I’ve never felt the urge to tie my trash to a fence to express that.”
Recently, a volunteer group managed to remove about 13 pounds of garbage, including tissues and hair ties, from the bridge in just one day.
However, by the very next day, the wall of trash had returned, with pedestrians continuing to add to the grotesque collection.
“We’re lucky,” one tourist remarked after contributing to the trash pile.
Darcy Baldock, 16, from London, joined in by tying a scrunchie to the mess, saying that “other people do it too.”
Her mother, Victoria, added, “This bridge is so iconic; it feels like we’re leaving a part of ourselves behind.” They did acknowledge that the scene was rather unsightly, suggesting it would have been better if tourists had left behind items like bracelets instead of trash.
Many passersby showed clear distaste as they approached the trash heap.
“It’s not a pretty sight, but hey, this is New York,” commented Marilee Padua from Toronto, criticizing tourists who mar the iconic bridge for being “thoughtless.”
The Department of Transportation, which oversees the Brooklyn Bridge, indicated that they perform regular cleanings along the pedestrian areas but didn’t specify cleaning frequency or how many littering tickets have been issued recently.
“The Brooklyn Bridge is often called ‘America’s Eiffel Tower,’ and littering it detracts from the experience of all visitors and burdens the staff trying to maintain this historic site,” stated a spokesperson.
This trash issue highlights an escalating concern regarding tourist behavior on the Brooklyn Bridge, a problem that the city has been attempting to manage for about ten years.
There was a time when tourists had cluttered the bridge with “love locks,” a trend originating from France’s Pont des Arts Bridge, which had actually jeopardized its structural integrity. Despite previous attempts to address the situation, thousands of locks remain, and several discarded ones still litter the wooden deck.
