Excessive litter, illegal dumping, and rat infestations are highly visible problems and are troublesome to urban core residents. Even so, due to the numerous other problems that plague many of these neighborhoods, such as high crime rates and poverty, not much energy is given to improving garbage management. It is not seen as a priority issue on which to focus scarce resources. In addition, the higher percentage of properties owned by absentee landlords often allows basic services, such as garbage maintenance, to fall into neglect. This is not meant to imply that residents do not care about the status of garbage problems in their neighborhoods; rather, that these are easily over-shadowed.

Map of garbage and rat violations in Providence

The low-priority status of garbage management has a visible effect on recycling rates. Urban core areas, as a general rule, have much lower recycling rates than suburban or wealthier urban areas. In Providence, the core neighborhoods recycle an average of 1/3 less curbside materials than the rest of the city . Again, this does not necessarily mean that residents do not care about recycling. There are a variety of barriers, besides behavioral, to successfully implementing recycing in urban core neighborhoods

Map of curbside recycling rates in Providence

This 1998 map shows that recycling rates are lowest, and waste production highest, in the central and south Providence neighborhoods. More recent recycling data, on the right, shows that this trend has, in fact, increased since 1998. Monday pickup is the still on the East Side of the city. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday pickup are central core areas.

City of Providence: Cumulative garbage, rat, and dumpster code violations in 1999

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