Collecting garbage in NYC

Sanitation Salvage is not the only company with poor performance. Century Waste is another. Century Waste trucks have failed 65 percent of the government inspections performed. Brakes, axles, steering mechanisms — they’ve all been found faulty. In February, yet another truck was ordered off the streets after inspectors found “wheel fasteners loose and/or missing.” Recently a wheel flew off a Century Waste truck and killed a motorist.

Trucks operated by New York City’s 50 biggest garbage companies are pulled off the road and declared unsafe to drive after 53 percent of government inspections, according to an analysis of data from the city and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Fourteen of those 50 companies hadn’t been inspected even once in the past two years. Nationally, commercial trucks are pulled off the road after 21 percent of inspections.