Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City

From the publisher: "America's largest city generates garbage in torrents - 11,000 tons a day on average. But New Yorkers don't give it much attention. They leave their trash on the curb or drop it in a litter basket, and promptly forget about it. And why not? On a schedule so regular you could almost set your watch by it, someone always comes to take it away. But who, exactly, is that someone? And why is he - or she - so unknown? Robin Nagle introduces us to the men and women of New York City's Department of Sanitation and makes clear why this small army of uniformed workers is the most important labor force on the streets. But the more time she spent with the DSNY, the more Nagle realized that observing wasn't quite enough - so she joined the force herself."