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All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan Roosevelt Island AVAC System

Roosevelt Island AVAC System

On this island, you suck away your garbage via an elaborate pneumatic tube system.

New York, New York

Added By
Oliver Hong
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  Allison / Atlas Obscura User
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It doesn’t run itself.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Crisscrossing beneath Roosevelt Island is a complex series of tubes not found in a majority of cities.

No, it's not a subway system, it's the Roosevelt Island Automated Vacuum Collection system.

One of only six of its kind to be used in the USA (the other major one is in Disney World), this incredible feat of Swedish engineering whisks away the garbage of all 20,000 inhabitants at speeds of up to 60 mph.

Trash is sucked out of the homes of Roosevelt Islanders through large pipelines using a complex system of air valves. The center where the garbage ends up is clean, modern and efficient, operated by a handful of engineers who monitor the waste disposal system from a glass box perched above the action.

Related Tags

Pneumatic Tubes Retro Tech

Know Before You Go

It's the gray building just north of the Motorgate parking garage.

Community Contributors

Added By

Oliver Hong

Edited By

dlc31723, Allison, Anna Minster

  • dlc31723
  • Allison
  • Anna Minster

Published

February 27, 2012

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Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_Vacuum_Collection
Roosevelt Island AVAC System
Roosevelt Island
New York, New York, 10044
United States
40.765937, -73.945625
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

The Marriage of Money and Real Estate

New York, New York

miles away

Roosevelt Island Octagon Tower

New York, New York

miles away

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New York, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York

New York

New York

Places 405
Stories 89

Nearby Places

The Marriage of Money and Real Estate

New York, New York

miles away

Roosevelt Island Octagon Tower

New York, New York

miles away

Cherokee Apartments

New York, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York

New York

New York

Places 405
Stories 89

Related Stories and Lists

Video Wonder: Roosevelt Island's Trash Vacuum

garbage

By Tao Tao Holmes

Notes From the Field: Roosevelt Island

notes from the field

By Annetta Black

Related Places

  • Prague, Czechia

    Prague Pneumatic Post

    The last municipal pneumatic post system in the world was in operation for over 100 years, and may run again.

  • Known as a “Zip Tube” this carries the book requests down to the stacks many floors below.

    New York, New York

    Pneumatic System of the New York Public Library

    One of the last few places in Manhattan that employed a pneumatic systemic keeps it on display.

  • Palo Alto, California

    Pneumatic Tube System at Stanford University Hospital

    Four miles of pipelines form the model of still-functioning retro-tech efficiency.

  • Play vintage pinball machines and video arcade games at the Appalachian Pinball Museum.

    Hendersonville, North Carolina

    Appalachian Pinball Museum

    This hands-on museum houses roughly 80 vintage pinball machines and arcade games.

    Sponsored by Henderson County Tourism Development Authority
  • Vienna, Austria

    Computer und Gaming Museum Wien

    Housed in a former air raid shelter, this museum is dedicated to the history of computing and video games.

  • Krakow, Poland

    Muzeum Gier Wideo (Krakow Arcade Museum)

    Where visitors can play more than 150 retro arcade games.

  • The ‘electric dynamo’ book conveying apparatus.

    Washington, D.C.

    Library of Congress Book Conveyor Tunnel

    A fantastic array of trays and cables once whisked books over to the Capitol at 600 feet per minute.

  • A recent MAL experiment.

    Boulder, Colorado

    Media Archaeology Lab

    A research lab and hands-on museum where visitors can experiment with retro technology.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
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