I was noticing the other day the ridiculous amount of cigarette butts that build up at grassy median strips near red lights. Take a look next time your stopped at one of these, it's mind-boggling.
I've found that smokers who normally wouldn't litter don't think twice about tossing a butt. I said to this an ex once (who smoked): "Would you throw an empty can on the ground? I mean, that butt has been in your mouth. It's pretty gross."
She had no words. "I never thought of it like that."
I was noticing the other day the ridiculous amount of cigarette butts that build up at grassy median strips near red lights. Take a look next time your stopped at one of these, it's mind-boggling.
I've found that smokers who normally wouldn't litter don't think twice about tossing a butt. I said to this an ex once (who smoked): "Would you throw an empty can on the ground? I mean, that butt has been in your mouth. It's pretty gross."
She had no words. "I never thought of it like that."
I read a book once that had a chapter about white flight, suburbanization, etc. in the 1950s and 60s. It pointed out that existing residents would often complain about the upkeep of new (usually black) residents homes in the neighborhood. Existing residents complained that the upkeep of their homes was substandard and a detriment to the neighborhood. Coming at it from the other angle, the authors of the book posited that for families coming from overcrowded segregated neighborhoods with poor infrastructure, their "substandard" (in the new neighborhoods' eyes) upkeep was actually several steps above what they had known before, and therefore an improvement to them.
Long story short, perhaps Frank's disgust at the litter reflects his own set of values. To the people in his neighborhood (where he is actually the new guy, give or take a few years) it may be entirely normal to throw trash all over the ground.
Not to say he shouldn't try to clean things up, but to expect a major shift in the cultural norm is probably unlikely.
If he's looking for a major change beyond what's already been suggested, I would say the best options are to A.) move or B.) hope for rapid gentrification.
I read a book once that had a chapter about white flight, suburbanization, etc. in the 1950s and 60s. It pointed out that existing residents would often complain about the upkeep of new (usually black) residents homes in the neighborhood.
Guaranteed the best 2 minutes of video you will watch this year.
I read a book once that had a chapter about white flight, suburbanization, etc. in the 1950s and 60s. It pointed out that existing residents would often complain about the upkeep of new (usually black) residents homes in the neighborhood. Existing residents complained that the upkeep of their homes was substandard and a detriment to the neighborhood. Coming at it from the other angle, the authors of the book posited that for families coming from overcrowded segregated neighborhoods with poor infrastructure, their "substandard" (in the new neighborhoods' eyes) upkeep was actually several steps above what they had known before, and therefore an improvement to them.
Long story short, perhaps Frank's disgust at the litter reflects his own set of values. To the people in his neighborhood (where he is actually the new guy, give or take a few years) it may be entirely normal to throw trash all over the ground.
Not to say he shouldn't try to clean things up, but to expect a major shift in the cultural norm is probably unlikely.
I would say the real difference is between the homeowners and the renters. Most of the homes on my block are lived in by the owner and compared to Frank's block there is very little trash in the street. The exception to this are the rental properties that are barely maintained. Most of the folks on my block keep their yards and the front of their home in really good condition with a few exceptions. Actually, I think some of them take the yard mowing/shrub trimming to the extreme.
Not to say he shouldn't try to clean things up, but to expect a major shift in the cultural norm is probably unlikely.
I would say the real difference is between the homeowners and the renters. Most of the homes on my block are lived in by the owner and compared to Frank's block there is very little trash in the street. The exception to this are the rental properties that are barely maintained. Most of the folks on my block keep their yards and the front of their home in really good condition with a few exceptions. Actually, I think some of them take the yard mowing/shrub trimming to the extreme.
I agree that usually rental properties are not taken care of as well as owned properties, either by the landlords or the tenants. The home ownership scenario was just an example; having rented in several places with high rental percentages I would say that its still a cultural norm in the neighborhood, owned or not.
Years ago in my first home we had a neighbor who did not take care of anything outside, and apparently inside their house. We called the City Inspector who came out to investigate...they told us that when they opened the front door literally 1,000's of roaches ran OUT of the house.....the roof had leaked and ceiling subsequently collapsed and they just left it that way.
The Inspector said that if they were renters they could do something about it, but because these folks were the home owners they could do whatever the hell they wanted with/on their property.
Years ago in my first home we had a neighbor who did not take care of anything outside, and apparently inside their house. We called the City Inspector who came out to investigate...they told us that when they opened the front door literally 1,000's of roaches ran OUT of the house.....the roof had leaked and ceiling subsequently collapsed and they just left it that way.
The Inspector said that if they were renters they could do something about it, but because these folks were the home owners they could do whatever the hell they wanted with/on their property.
I moved shortly thereafter.
Yeah, of course there are exceptions. The people who owned our home before we did were the scourge of the neighborhood. I still rake 4+ year old trash out of the yard.
Years ago in my first home we had a neighbor who did not take care of anything outside, and apparently inside their house. We called the City Inspector who came out to investigate...they told us that when they opened the front door literally 1,000's of roaches ran OUT of the house.....the roof had leaked and ceiling subsequently collapsed and they just left it that way.
The Inspector said that if they were renters they could do something about it, but because these folks were the home owners they could do whatever the hell they wanted with/on their property.
I moved shortly thereafter.
Yeah, of course there are exceptions. The people who owned our home before we did were the scourge of the neighborhood. I still rake 4+ year old trash out of the yard.
It's a wonder you got the house because in my experience those types never leave. They usually outlast everyone.
In Philadelphia, the city will give you a ticket if there is trash in front of your house... sadly even that is not enough to curb litter. I just cleaned my front yard yesterday and today I had to clean up more trash that randomly blows around... ghettoes on the mind...
they claim to have picked it up on Monday at fifteen hundred hours...they also say that didn't happen, and that it was picked up Tuesday. Normal Wednesday collection also occurred, according to them. It's funny, because I walk by it every day (albeit now on the other side of the damn street), and it's looked like that for at least a week and a half...
Not the worst thing ever, but remember: upscale happening district over here...the neighbors' anger almost makes it worth it, they're pissed off!
I had a friend who didn't pay for trash pick up and just used someone else dumpster.
Some places you can do that.
I got a few secret squirrel dumpsters that I know I can use at certain times without getting caught, but fortunately I don't have to get down like that too often. Using a small business owner's dumpster around here and getting caught can result in some trouble, they pay for garbage pickups and are not really feeling folks piling in. I once worked for a guy who had his dumpster packing game down to a science, he didn't waste a single cubic inch of space before he had to call for a pickup. FORGET trying to toss stuff in a home contractor's dumpster, that's a suicide mission.
I once had a crate of records from a storage that was a complete biohazard - molded over, and crap titles to boot. The storage wanted something like $40 to dispose of it, so I figured hey, I'll just dump it somewhere.
You'd be surprised how hard it is to just dump something. I got chased away from several dumpsters (contractors, Sween!) and police shooed me away from underneath the freeway. Finally, I found a dumpster that appeared to be unattended... two Mexican laborers spotted me from the roof but were nice enough to let me (finally) dump the box of moldy records.
Back to the neighborhood trash problem, you need receptacles, signs (don't litter), and a public education/community involvement campaign. For the problem to be solved, it has to come from within, so the public education/community involvement is probably the most important.
It's the mentality of people, no one respects public space in the US. You go to Japan and there are no trash cans ANYWHERE, but no litter either. Americans are lazy, they need a trash can every 2 blocks.
You drop it, I'll say something 9 times out of 10, I don't give a f*ck, It's lazy, selfish and dirty. I have seen every damn type of human being doing it so I'm not really having the they do it more than us or their values are different than ours, poor and/or brown/black doesn't mean dirty.
There is no excuse for it in Toronto, none. There are trash cans everywhere. Well, except in Kensington Market for some reason, but there are lots of makeshift trash boxes that get picked up nightly, so put it in there and not on the street. I have picked shit up, did the "you dropped this" and got into yelling fights with people over it. The best is when they tell me it's none of my business.
I hate that Toronto banned smoking indoors but didn't have the planning foresight to also install ashtrays outside or call for businesses to do so. The cigarette butt thing is completely out of hand here....come the winter thaw and all the shit left behind, REVOLTING. I'm a smoker and have been trying to put it out and dumping the butts in the garbage since Man called me out on it*** just being another type of littering, but it's a HUGE drag and good luck getting most people to do it...understandably.
Oh yea - having just got back from a roadtrip - what is up with Michigan???? No roadside garbage pick-up? There is roadkill every few feet lying next to plastic bags, blown out tires, drink cups and black garbage bags dumped on the side of the road - WTF?
Oh yea - having just got back from a roadtrip - what is up with Michigan???? No roadside garbage pick-up? There is roadkill every few feet lying next to plastic bags, blown out tires, drink cups and black garbage bags dumped on the side of the road - WTF?
I was walking to school one day and I witnessed someone no more than 50 feet from me chuck one of those 3 gallon plastic paint buckets filled with trash into the man-made frog swamp (apart of some college beautification project, I guess). I blankly stared at him for a few seconds in utter amazement. He looked at me like I was the asshole. "I need to throw it somewhere". Grown men acting like children pisses me off like nothing else.
I once had a crate of records from a storage that was a complete biohazard - molded over, and crap titles to boot. The storage wanted something like $40 to dispose of it, so I figured hey, I'll just dump it somewhere.
You'd be surprised how hard it is to just dump something. I got chased away from several dumpsters (contractors, Sween!) and police shooed me away from underneath the freeway. Finally, I found a dumpster that appeared to be unattended... two Mexican laborers spotted me from the roof but were nice enough to let me (finally) dump the box of moldy records.
Oh dude, next time hit me up and I'll direct you to a proper disposal location with the utmost quickness.
At my old job we were called on one day to go and repair phones due to heavy storm damage, which was not my usual area of expertise. So I wound up in a multi-million dollar area of Garden City, and long story short I had never been treated like such a lump of dogshit by anyone in my life. I have a fairly photographic memory and made a strong mental note of the location of the home, vowing some day to have some type of self-indulgent revenge to the poor treatment that I received.
A year or so later I was enrolled in the university which is located in the same neighborhood, and one night while driving to school I cut down a side street and realized that I was on the same block as that f*cking house that I vowed to one day return to and dole out my own chilled dish of sociopathic revenge. I looked around my car real quick for some ammo but all I had was an empty bag of takeout, so I kept on my way and decided to come back. After all, I had two years ahead of me of driving this same route so I knew I could come up with something better.
For the next year or two I deposited a couple of open newspapers and a wad of napkins out the window of the car if there was even the slightest breeze as I drove by the house. Sometimes I'd do it up the block a bit in the hopes it would blow down to where they lived, but either way I made sure to at least a couple of times a month make the street look a little like Roosevelt.
To compensate, I frequently pick up litter I find on the beach. Yin and yang and all that bullshit.
FORGET trying to toss stuff in a home contractor's dumpster, that's a suicide mission.
Depends. Right after I reupped my lease last year, a crew came in to gut the apartment next to mine. The brought in a crane and a giant dumpster???one of those railroad car-size deals, both behind our building and taking up most of our parking. So they work on that apartment for a couple of months. Starting at 7am sharp. Real loud. Then, when it first starts snowing....they bail. The crane and dumpster have been there all winter. And I've been chucking full bags of trash off my back porch for months.
FORGET trying to toss stuff in a home contractor's dumpster, that's a suicide mission.
Depends. Right after I reupped my lease last year, a crew came in to gut the apartment next to mine. The brought in a crane and a giant dumpster???one of those railroad car-size deals, both behind our building and taking up most of our parking. So they work on that apartment for a couple of months. Starting at 7am sharp. Real loud. Then, when it first starts snowing....they bail. The crane and dumpster have been there all winter. And I've been chucking full bags of trash off my back porch for months.
Oh well that's a whole different ballgame, I'm talking about rolling up to an active dumpster while dudes are working on the house.
And I've been chucking full bags of trash off my back porch for months.
I really enjoyed this for some reason, I might go do that off mine just for the fun of it.
And I've been chucking full bags of trash off my back porch for months.
I really enjoyed this for some reason, I might go do that off mine just for the fun of it.
I was surprised by how satisfying it is. It's a four-story drop, and they really pick up speed by the time they hit the dumpster. I also very much enjoyed shoveling ice off my porch onto the crane. The bang when the ice would hit could be heard for blocks.
Comments
I've found that smokers who normally wouldn't litter don't think twice about tossing a butt. I said to this an ex once (who smoked): "Would you throw an empty can on the ground? I mean, that butt has been in your mouth. It's pretty gross."
She had no words. "I never thought of it like that."
That's why she's an ex
Long story short, perhaps Frank's disgust at the litter reflects his own set of values. To the people in his neighborhood (where he is actually the new guy, give or take a few years) it may be entirely normal to throw trash all over the ground.
Not to say he shouldn't try to clean things up, but to expect a major shift in the cultural norm is probably unlikely.
If he's looking for a major change beyond what's already been suggested, I would say the best options are to A.) move or B.) hope for rapid gentrification.
Guaranteed the best 2 minutes of video you will watch this year.
I strongly suggest seeking out the entire film.
I would say the real difference is between the homeowners and the renters. Most of the homes on my block are lived in by the owner and compared to Frank's block there is very little trash in the street. The exception to this are the rental properties that are barely maintained. Most of the folks on my block keep their yards and the front of their home in really good condition with a few exceptions. Actually, I think some of them take the yard mowing/shrub trimming to the extreme.
I agree that usually rental properties are not taken care of as well as owned properties, either by the landlords or the tenants. The home ownership scenario was just an example; having rented in several places with high rental percentages I would say that its still a cultural norm in the neighborhood, owned or not.
The Inspector said that if they were renters they could do something about it, but because these folks were the home owners they could do whatever the hell they wanted with/on their property.
I moved shortly thereafter.
Yeah, of course there are exceptions. The people who owned our home before we did were the scourge of the neighborhood. I still rake 4+ year old trash out of the yard.
It's a wonder you got the house because in my experience those types never leave. They usually outlast everyone.
they claim to have picked it up on Monday at fifteen hundred hours...they also say that didn't happen, and that it was picked up Tuesday. Normal Wednesday collection also occurred, according to them. It's funny, because I walk by it every day (albeit now on the other side of the damn street), and it's looked like that for at least a week and a half...
Not the worst thing ever, but remember: upscale happening district over here...the neighbors' anger almost makes it worth it, they're pissed off!
Some places you can do that.
I got a few secret squirrel dumpsters that I know I can use at certain times without getting caught, but fortunately I don't have to get down like that too often. Using a small business owner's dumpster around here and getting caught can result in some trouble, they pay for garbage pickups and are not really feeling folks piling in. I once worked for a guy who had his dumpster packing game down to a science, he didn't waste a single cubic inch of space before he had to call for a pickup. FORGET trying to toss stuff in a home contractor's dumpster, that's a suicide mission.
You'd be surprised how hard it is to just dump something. I got chased away from several dumpsters (contractors, Sween!) and police shooed me away from underneath the freeway. Finally, I found a dumpster that appeared to be unattended... two Mexican laborers spotted me from the roof but were nice enough to let me (finally) dump the box of moldy records.
It's the mentality of people, no one respects public space in the US. You go to Japan and there are no trash cans ANYWHERE, but no litter either. Americans are lazy, they need a trash can every 2 blocks.
There is no excuse for it in Toronto, none. There are trash cans everywhere. Well, except in Kensington Market for some reason, but there are lots of makeshift trash boxes that get picked up nightly, so put it in there and not on the street. I have picked shit up, did the "you dropped this" and got into yelling fights with people over it. The best is when they tell me it's none of my business.
I hate that Toronto banned smoking indoors but didn't have the planning foresight to also install ashtrays outside or call for businesses to do so. The cigarette butt thing is completely out of hand here....come the winter thaw and all the shit left behind, REVOLTING. I'm a smoker and have been trying to put it out and dumping the butts in the garbage since Man called me out on it*** just being another type of littering, but it's a HUGE drag and good luck getting most people to do it...understandably.
***EDIT - I'm not the ex mentioned above!
Yeah, hi, it's Michigan.
Oh dude, next time hit me up and I'll direct you to a proper disposal location with the utmost quickness.
At my old job we were called on one day to go and repair phones due to heavy storm damage, which was not my usual area of expertise. So I wound up in a multi-million dollar area of Garden City, and long story short I had never been treated like such a lump of dogshit by anyone in my life. I have a fairly photographic memory and made a strong mental note of the location of the home, vowing some day to have some type of self-indulgent revenge to the poor treatment that I received.
A year or so later I was enrolled in the university which is located in the same neighborhood, and one night while driving to school I cut down a side street and realized that I was on the same block as that f*cking house that I vowed to one day return to and dole out my own chilled dish of sociopathic revenge. I looked around my car real quick for some ammo but all I had was an empty bag of takeout, so I kept on my way and decided to come back. After all, I had two years ahead of me of driving this same route so I knew I could come up with something better.
For the next year or two I deposited a couple of open newspapers and a wad of napkins out the window of the car if there was even the slightest breeze as I drove by the house. Sometimes I'd do it up the block a bit in the hopes it would blow down to where they lived, but either way I made sure to at least a couple of times a month make the street look a little like Roosevelt.
To compensate, I frequently pick up litter I find on the beach. Yin and yang and all that bullshit.
Depends. Right after I reupped my lease last year, a crew came in to gut the apartment next to mine. The brought in a crane and a giant dumpster???one of those railroad car-size deals, both behind our building and taking up most of our parking. So they work on that apartment for a couple of months. Starting at 7am sharp. Real loud. Then, when it first starts snowing....they bail. The crane and dumpster have been there all winter. And I've been chucking full bags of trash off my back porch for months.
Oh well that's a whole different ballgame, I'm talking about rolling up to an active dumpster while dudes are working on the house.
I really enjoyed this for some reason, I might go do that off mine just for the fun of it.
I was surprised by how satisfying it is. It's a four-story drop, and they really pick up speed by the time they hit the dumpster. I also very much enjoyed shoveling ice off my porch onto the crane. The bang when the ice would hit could be heard for blocks.