Most reduced income tenants do not feel it is their responsibility to handle trash, even though you will see it as their responsibility in almost all leases. They also don't want to spend their money on trash bags, which are getting more expensive by the year. The city (yes, Newark is an actual city) does not place enough litter bins on the sidewalks, and they often fill up quick, and it all blows away all over the place.

Most properties are 2 to 4 units, which means there is no staff to sweep the grounds and rebag poorly-bagged trash.

Larger buildings (20+ units) tend to have a superintendent on premises. That person typically goes through the entire building's worth of trash twice a week, rebags all of it in heavy duty bags, and picks up litter every single day around the property, including dog poop, and then schleps all those bags out to the sidewalk for regular pickup. I did that singlehandedly twice a week, every week in the south ward for a few years of my life. On that job, I have smelled odors that left me gagging while wondering how on earth or what on earth those odors came from. I had a few rats jump at me a few times in the process. I knew of some superintendents in other buildings that did not keep up with it, and it resulted in a lot of trash everywhere too.

I also experienced at least a dozen times where homeless or random people came by and tore open the trash bags looking for recycables or other items they can use, and then leave whatever they didn't take just spread out all over the place. That used to really piss me off. Not much I could do except feel bad for those fked up ppl, and clean everything back up.

Buildings with 50+ units tend to keep private rental dumpsters that get emptied by a truck every week. It's a lot easier on the superintendent. But those buildings are few and far between.

That's how you end up with loose trash and litter everywhere.