Could Underground Waste Management be the Future of Clean Cities? New York City’s iconic, 23-ton collection fleets rumble through every one of its boroughs like clockwork — except on Roosevelt Island. Trucks and cars are kept to a bare minimum on this remote, floating strip of land. So instead of getting hauled off by vehicles, garbage travels underground. New York City’s iconic, 23-ton collection fleets rumble through every one of its boroughs like clockwork — except on Roosevelt Island. Trucks and cars are kept to a bare minimum on this remote, floating strip of land. So instead of getting hauled off by vehicles, garbage travels underground. Beneath the streets, high-powered turbines suck waste through a massive network of pneumatic tubes at up to 60 miles per hour. Developed in the 1960’s by the Swedish company Envac, this automated vacuum system swallows about 5.5 pounds of trash a day. Discards residents drop in chutes in their buildings land at a centralized island facility where it’s compacted, sealed in containers, loaded onto New York Department of Sanitation trucks, and driven away for disposal. While Roosevelt Island’s system is rare in the U.S., such pneumatic networks are common in space-constrained European cities and elsewhere. Envac installations operate in smart cities, hospitals, airports, and residential developments across more than 40 countries. The Swedish tech developer reports the technology reduces carbon emissions by up to 90% compared to more traditional trash collection. No trucks. No diesel fumes. And the enclosed systems keep rats and odors at bay. Some cities report good news for their fiscal bottom lines. Bergen, Norway, says its subsurface network, while carrying high upfront costs, is saving $2 million annually in trash collection. Kissimmee, Florida, was the first to debut underground waste collection in the States back in 2017. Though the technology,