The trash that has been piling up since the snowstorm will be gone “hopefully in the next three or four days,” Mayor Bloomberg promised Monday.

But with only half the usual number of sanitation trucks picking up garbage, progress was hard to see as the city geared up for the first full work week since the holidays.

“It will take a few days to catch up, but they’re out there today,” the mayor insisted.

Bloomberg has been battered by criticism for the city’s botched response to a storm that dumped 20 plus inches of snow.

The Sanitation Department made a point of lowering expectations over the weekend, warning that it would provide only “limited” trash collection for the first pickups since the blizzard.

The Strongest are still removing snow in many parts of the city.

Alternate-side-parking rules are suspended again today, but parking meters are in effect.

And regular garbage collection resumed only for those areas with scheduled Monday pickups.

Sanitation officials reminded New Yorkers it’s up to them to make sure there’s a path through the snow to reach their trash.

(Source: NY Daily News)