In many municipalities having garbage service is mandatory, in rural and unincorporated areas not so much...
The garbage story in Washington:
The garbage story in Washington:
Litter
- Thread starter Stonedfish
- Start date
My great plan was always to allow the meth head children of those who dumped washing machines and AMC Gremlins in the woods access to go collect the scrap. Of course my policy is less than perfect.
I have, and while it may be a cultural issue, littering and dumping come with very stiff penalties and strong enforcement.
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Went to the Ankeny wildlife refuge today. Birding was unremarkable, but back at the parking lot I filled a full kitchen garbage bag with assorted trash, including a diaper the kid must have worn for a week, about 30 cigarette butts, McDonalds cups, several unmatched assorted sizes of sox, 3 condoms but no wrappers, and a bindle of white who knows what. This is at a trailhead where people come to enjoy nature. Go figure.
(BigDave)
Smolt
I pick up aluminum cans when I go walk. It bothers me that they are replaced as quickly as I grab them. Usually between 3 to a dozen on a 3 mile route that I walked on less than a week ago. I wish I could pick up more litter but it would soon be more than I could carry. I have volunteered for a couple of local cleanups, but it's just not enough to keep up. The homeless situation certainly has added to the mess. I wish I knew the answer?
Oregon won't take cans not purchased in state.
I agree with Jasmillo that more people equals more garbage, but it also has to do with that feeling of being anonymous when there are tons of folks around that don't know you, not knowing your neighbors, being in a car. People behave better in many ways when they live in smaller groups. There will still be people who don't give a shit about others, but many less.
joefromchicago
Steelhead
I also think a contributing factor is that with the lack of an enforcement oversight, people feel that they can do anything as long as they don't get caught. I see this on constant basis nearly every time when out driving.
joefromchicago
Steelhead
In my opinion, the only reason extraterrestrials are coming here is to see if we're done cooking ourselves yet.
In Bellingham…. we’re more concerned about parking meters than people speeding through school zones. Let that sink in, explains it all.
They lock their aircraft up and fly on by.In my opinion, the only reason extraterrestrials are coming here is to see if we're done cooking ourselves yet.
I wish I was as young as you, Stonedfish! When I was a kid, a bottle of pop ("soda" in US lingo) cost $.10, and the refundable deposit was $.02. That was close to 70 years ago.
Am I hearing right, that Washington state still doesn't have a bottle deposit system? Is that a political decison, an economic one, or a social one?
Here in B.C., there's a disgusting amount of household litter, all the way from small stuff to old vehicles (often torched), left by folks who don't apparently don't have the "resources" to bring them to the landfill. (There's a tipping fee at the landfill.) I don't see many bottles or cans littering the ground in town. Many get tossed into garbage bins by folks who don't make the effort to return them for refund. I imagine part of that is because there's now a recycling organization that teams up with the drinks industry, and there are only a few recycle centres (only 2 in my town with a population around 120,000). Before that system, you could return empties to any store that sold drinks. Liquor stores still accept them, but not grocery stores, at least none I've noticed.
As a Canadian, I gotta ask where that comment came from, Dustin. I know you're just joking, but sheesh!
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He blames everything on Canada including that ham shit you all call bacon.
It's a least partially directed at me (I think it was in response to my comment back at Finluver), @Dustin Chromers and I have had a few dust-ups, nothing serious, we also have an ongoing bacon debate - he seems to think Canadian bacon is a real thing in Canada and is the bacon we eat with eggs etc, Sheesh. He just won't listen to an expert on bacon, as all Canadians are.
Cheers
D’accord!
Back bacon is the real deal. Ordinary fat-laden bacon is only good for greasing the BBQ before putting on the salmon fillet. Whatever. It’s all just pig meat. But I do like marinated pork tenderloin. Yikes, what a thread drift!
