New York City Stats

New York City uses more energy, sucks down more water, and spews out more solid waste than any other mega-metropolitan area. There are about 20 million residents, speaking over 800 languages, in the 6,000 square miles that comprise the city’s greater metropolitan statistical area. It pumps out over 33 million tons of waste a year. The next closest offender is Mexico City, which generates 12 million tons of trash.

There are at least 26 other megacities around the world, which, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, account for 9 percent of the planet’s electricity use, drain 10 percent of its gasoline, and create 13 percent of its trash. There were 27 megacities, worldwide, as of 2010. In 2020 there will be closer to 40. According to the study, New York is more wasteful per capita, than all of them.

"The New York metropolis has 12 million fewer people than Tokyo, yet it uses more energy in total: the equivalent of one oil supertanker every 1.5 days,” according to study author Chris Kennedy, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto.