Wilson Perez, a former Queens County Carting worker, has direct experience of many of the problems with the private sanitation industry. Whenever he complained to the company owner about his long shifts, he was given two choices: “work or go

This powerful video features City Council Member and Sanitation Committee Chair Antonio Reynoso, small business owners, private sanitation workers and young people and advocates from environmental justice communities discussing the negative impacts that the city’s outdated waste system has on them, as well as solutions to create good jobs and clean and safe communities for all New Yorkers.

Stephan Smith is a life-long resident of Hunts Point in the South Bronx and has witnessed how waste transfer stations have decimated his community. The stations can be seen, often covered in a grey haze of toxins, smoke and particulate matter. In talking to his neighbors, Stephan realized: “Most people don’t even know what a waste transfer facility is. They are simply living here and receiving poor air quality and don’t even know why.”

Plinio Cruz is a sanitation worker who has been in the commercial waste industry for the last 10 years. He works long nights in midtown Manhattan picking up waste from the city’s restaurants, offices and other businesses. As a Bronx native and hardworking Teamster, Plinio is proud to be able to provide for his family and help keep New York clean, but he worries about a lot of the other non-union drivers he sees out on the road at night.

Allan Henry has been a commercial sanitation worker for the last 28 years, and he can feel it. “My body is shot. My left wrist is bad, my knees are bad, my ankles are bad. Every day, everything hurts, it's just normal,” says Allan. Sanitation regularly ranks as one of the nation’s most dangerous jobs. Any garbage bag could contain razor sharp objects or hazardous chemicals.

Kellie Terry is the executive director of the Point Development Community Development Corporation located in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx. Growing up in the area, Kellie witnessed firsthand how commercial waste has impacted her community, which inspired her to move back after college. Over 14,000 families, mostly low-income and communities of color, live next to 15 different waste transfer stations and are subjected every day to 15,000 trucks hauling toxic-smelling waste.

Emellie O'Brien is the co-founder of Earth Angel, an environmental consulting company for the film and television industry. Emellie started Earth Angel two years ago after witnessing firsthand the urgent need for environmental practices on film sets. Earth Angel helps productions reduce their environmental impact and give back to the community.