Garbage In The Cities: Refuse Reform and the EnvironmentAs recently as the 1880s, most American cities had no effective means of collecting and removing the mountains of garbage, refuse, and manure over a thousand tons a day in New York City alone that clogged streets and overwhelmed the senses of residents. In his landmark study, Garbage in the Cities, Martin Melosi offered the first history of efforts begun in the Progressive Era to clean up this mess. Since it was first published, Garbage in the Cities