27-03-2025
How a US Maker of Rat-Proof Trash Bins Got Boxed in by Trump's Tariffs
This past Christmas, Liz Picarazzi, whose company makes rat-proof trash enclosures installed around New York City, tore up her holiday plans and dragged her family to Vietnam in an effort to tariff-proof her business. She had started making her product in the backyard of her Brooklyn townhouse in 2012. Citibin, which now employs eight people including Picarazzi's husband, has flourished in recent years thanks in large part to Mayor Eric Adams' war on rats. 'My business wouldn't exist if I didn't live among trash and rats in New York City,' Picarazzi says.
Citibin products come in different shapes and sizes: The company also makes lockers for baby strollers and mail packages, as well as what's advertised as an extra-tough, bear-proof receptacle. Prices range from $2,000 all the way up to $15,000. Picarazzi, 52, initially had her containers, which are a combination of aluminum, steel and a bamboo composite, manufactured in New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, but in 2017 she moved all production to China, where costs were much lower. 'It was very, very easy to set up production in China, easier than the US, and as an American, that was horrible to discover,' she says.
