Whether you are out with friends, or celebrating quietly at home, millions of people around the world watch the Times Square Ball drop in New York City on New Year’s Eve. Thousands of people gather in the Big Apple to celebrate, wearing gimmicky glasses, blowing horns and waving sparklers. But as the confetti and balloons are released and the party goers throw their hats in the air, have you ever stopped to consider who’s going to clean it all up and how?
Cleaning up the mess is a massive undertaking that starts as most of us are heading to bed. Looking over the inventory list of tools used, trash collected and manpower needed to clean-up Times Square’s post New Year’s Eve bash is simply jaw dropping!
3,000 pounds. The amount of confetti blasted over the crowd once the ball completes its drop. This equates to about 30,000,000 pieces of coloured paper, which is dropped from the tops of 7 buildings surrounding Times Square.
44 tons. The amount of trash picked up by NYC sanitation workers after the festivities. Refuse ranges from confetti to balloons to party hats, pizza boxes and empty bottles.
235 sanitation workers using 26 mechanical sweepers, 45 collection trucks, 60 backpack blowers and 40 hand brooms. The amount of manpower required to tidy up Times Square after everyone has gone home.
7 hours. The amount of time it took the city to reopen the streets to traffic.
*Numbers based on news reports across the US and online for 2016 festivities.
