New York — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has unveiled a plan to transport most of the city’s residential trash out of the city on barges. According to The Associated Press (AP), the "20-year plan calls for the retrofitting of four marine transfer stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens at a cost of $85 million each. Trash will be placed into containers and taken out of the city via garbage barges."

Bloomberg’s plan also requires "private operators of waste transfer stations to export trash via barge or rail instead of by truck." In announcing his proposal, which must receive the approval of both the city council and the state, the mayor said the plan is needed to reduce environmental damage caused by the vehicles that transport the city’s waste elsewhere and to drive down the costs of transporting the trash outside the city limits.

Three years ago, the city’s Fresh Kills Landfill closed, prompting the city to formulate a long-term plan for disposing its garbage.