People saying America is ‘still in the dark ages’ as New Yorkers discover wheelie bins for the first time

The state of New York is being ripped to shreds online for its dramatic introduction of a…wheelie bin.

Okay, so we’ve all been using these bins since as long as we can remember in the UK, but sometimes other countries or towns need a little more time to catch on to the latest trends.

However, it’s caught the attention of X, formerly Twitter that NYC is only just rolling out mass wheelie bins for apartments, instead of letting them just chuck bags of rubbish on the streets (no wonder there’s a rat problem).

Online, many people came together to laugh at the US, claiming that the nation is in the ‘dark ages’ when a video was posted showing the Major, Eric Adams strolling outside with the black bin, wearing black shades and demonstrating its use to Alicia Key’s Empire State Of Mind jingle.

Under the clip, users were quick to point out that the UK has been using wheelie bins for decades and were confused about this show of grandeur for something so basic.

Major Eric Adams was swaggering with his wheelie bin. X/ NYCMayor

One person wrote: “What the hell? The UK has had these for 30 years and we don't have to buy them either. Hell we've got 4 of them (non recyclable which hardly gets used these days, plastic and metal, paper and card, garden waste) Surely other places in the US already have Wheely bins?”

Another commented: “it’s a f*cking wheelie bin oh my god they’re actually still in the dark ages.”

Someone else said: “Congratulations New York City on introducing the wheelie bin.”

One user wrote: “1969: american astronauts land on the moon.

“2024: the wheelie bin is introduced in New York.”

However, other commenters were quick to point out that the rest of the US have been using wheelie bins for years, and it’s just New York that’s lagging behind the rest.

Someone wrote: “The rest of the US has had these for decades. NYC is just ridiculous.”

Another hit back: “No. “Wheely bins” are a UK thing. This is a completely different waste management concept, that Mayor Adams invented.”

Um, it looks like a wheelie bin, mate.

With a proposed rule requiring that ‘all buildings with one to nine residential units and all special use buildings that receive DSNY’ should put their rubbish in containers from November, the new rule is to combat rats on the street.

Dubbed the ‘rat mitigation toolkit’, it hopes to stop rodents from eating through bin bags left on the streets.

Mayor Adams said in a statement: “Today, we are tossing even more black bags into the dustbin of history and taking the next step forward in our ‘Trash Revolution’.

“The first-ever, official NYC Bin is high-quality, affordable, and will build on our efforts containerizing more than 70 percent of the city’s trash to protect our most valuable and limited resource — our public space.”

‘New’ New York Executive Director B.J. Jones, added: “The New York City Department of Sanitation is on a roll and rats are on the run, thanks to the Adams administration’s continued expansion of waste containerization.

“New Yorkers can hold their heads high instead of holding their noses as Commissioner Tisch, the DSNY team, and Rat Czar Corradi bring cleaner curbs and a better quality of life to every neighborhood.”