Disney World has an average annual attendance of 52 MILLION visitors! So of course, that means a lot of trash is generated. Here are some amazing facts about all of that trash…
1 - AVACS - You’ve probably heard that a lot of the behind-the-scenes work at Magic Kingdom takes place below the park itself. It’s built on top of a series of utility corridors or “utilidors” that house many of the operations that keep the park running smoothly.
The AVAC system — Automated Vacuum Assisted Collection System — was imported from Sweden. It’s basically a series of large tubes that hang from the ceiling of the utilidor. It moves trash around the park through pneumatic tubes at 60 miles per hour to a central collection point located behind Splash Mountain where it is processed, compressed or recycled. There are access points all over the park and the garbage is actually “sucked” into the tubes. The vacuum is created by two motors and exhausts and the tubes themselves are 20″ in diameter.
2 - AMOUNT OF WASTE - An average of more than 80,000 pounds of garbage run through the AVACS every day. And that’s just at the Magic Kingdom! According to a report from the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which oversees Disney World operations, more than 110,000 TONS of solid waste were discarded in 2017.
3 - GARBAGE TRUCKS - Who is taking care of all this trash? That falls on the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s 35 solid waste transfer vehicles. In 2017, these vehicles made an average of 191 pick-ups per day. Keep in mind these are full-size garbage trucks that would be full each pick-up. That’s a pick-up every 7.5 minutes on average!
4 - CUSTOM TRASH CANS - Walt Disney World trash cans have become such a crucial part of the Disney experience, that they even sell merchandise designed around them.
Walt himself wanted to make sure the park was clean and tidy. Typical trash cans at the time were simple round, open receptacles that led to foul odor and trash spilling out - far from clean and tidy.
Trash can inspired salt/pepper shakers!
Walt came up with a solution - the covered bin with a swinging lid. This would contain the trash out of sight, and control the smell. Disneyland was the first place to use these trash cans, but Walt never patented the idea because other manufacturers told him they were useless.
The trash cans are themed appropriately to the area of the park they are in. They are part of the decor and actually FUN to look at. This makes you more likely to walk up to a trash can and use it.
5 - PERFECT PLACEMENT - Besides the perfect designs for trash cans, Walt knew they had to be perfectly placed in order for people to use them. He decided to station a trash can every 30 feet.
There are a few different versions of the story of how Walt came up with this exact measurement. The first is that it’s how long it took him to finish his hot dog as he walked from the stand. When he was done, he needed a trash can to dispose of the wrapper. The second is that Walt and his team removed all of the trash cans on Main Street and then handed out candy and snacks to people as they entered the park. They then watched and counted how long people would carry the wrappers and paper before giving up and dropping them, and it was around 30 feet.
Who knew that trash could be so interesting?? Remember that I will plan and book your Disney trip for free and leave you with time on your hands to read about things like garbage!