The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) reported yesterday that the AVAC (Automatic Vacuum Collection) underground garbage removal system West Side line servicing the Rivercross, Westview and Island House buildings:
… is currently offline due to a clog. Management at all affected buildings has been notified and asked to close their chutes until further notice.
The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will begin daily garbage pickups for affected buildings starting Thursday, March 19. Building managers have been instructed to place garbage at the curb after 7:00 PM for 6:00 AM pickup.
We apologize for the inconvenience and are working with DSNY to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
and this afternoon reported:
AVAC service on the west side line has been fully restored.
Please remember that only household trash should be disposed of through the AVAC system. Prohibited items can cause clogs and service interruptions….
Among the items found inside the Westview building chute clogging the AVAC system were a sewing machine, printer/copier, clothes, blankets, bedsheets, diapers and comforters.
During the February 12, 2026 RIOC Operations Advisory Committee meeting, RIOC Chief Operating Officer Mary Cunneen described the problem of prohibited items being placed in the AVAC chutes clogging the system and causing service outages According to Ms Cunneen:
… it’s not uncommon the strange items that we find when we’re unclogging the system.
In 2025 we had 24 jams in total. The average time out of service for those jams, and that could be either the main line or a building specific was almost five days of an outage. And of the the total days that some part of the system was offline last year, it came out to about one third of the year that the system was impacted in some way.
72% of those jams were caused by either a building air compressor which is the building’s responsibility to maintain or prohibited items being placed within the system that cause a jam down the line….
RIOC President BJ Jones added that monetary fines against buildings for clogging the AVAC chutes are being considered
During an October 23, 2022 tour of the Roosevelt Island AVAC facility I asked Sanitation Department worker TJ about crazy items that were placed in the AVAC chutes. TJ answered that bed frames and TV sets have been thrown down the AVAC chute.
Watch the full video of the fascinating 2022 tour of the Roosevelt Island AVAC facility.
Yet another reason we need better waste handling and collection/drop off infrastructure for electronics! Doesn’t completely prevent human stupidity, but it would go a long way towards providing viable alternatives to AvAC chutes (aka landfill) AND building a culture of responsible waste disposal among RI/NYC residents.
Rivercross maintains its own recycling containers for electronics, clothing and shredding. I’m sure our Management office would be happy to share resources with other buildings.
Excellent idea.