Littered across this website are countless gems and gotchas to make you think about the consequences of your purchases and actions. In particular the treasures he has found are quite surprising, 100 phones?! Just from looking for trash? The author is 47 I think and he's been doing stuff for 17 years. I have some of my own cool found trash collections too. The trash you find revels the personality of the place.
I'm starting to suspect I might be cynical.
I was pretty impressed at the "1,000,000 cigarette butts that I removed from the environment" but I couldn't help but think "moved into what?" which brought this (https://youtu.be/3m5qxZm_JqM) to mind:
[Interviewer:] Into another environment….
[Senator Collins:] No, no, no. it’s been towed beyond the environment, it’s not in the environment
[Interviewer:] Yeah, but from one environment to another environment.
[Senator Collins:] No, it’s beyond the environment, it’s not in an environment. It has been towed beyond the environment.
[Interviewer:] Well, what’s out there?
[Senator Collins:] Nothing’s out there…
Also, I couldn't help but wonder if he was removing trash at a faster rate than it was being added. Picking up litter is a good thing certainly, but we really need to get people to stop creating it in the first place. Even properly disposed of all that trash is a massive problem, but I'd love to see more effort getting people to clean up after themselves. A very long time ago I'd see PSAs with owls imploring us to "Give a hoot" and fake indians crying. Was that helpful? Does that kind of thing even exist today? Now that nobody watches TV are they pushed at kids on tiktok?
I'm fairly certain that it helps. Obviously someone has to start, but when it looks like no one cares others are more likely to contribute to the problem or worse assume that leaving trash there is what's expected of them. The Cart Narc guy has observed a similar trend with shopping carts. If somebody puts one where it doesn't belong it can attract others. You'd think that if people were going to be lazy and leave their carts in the parking lot instead of returning them properly they'd just leave them near their own cars, but some people will go out of their way to put theirs next to other carts even when it's still clearly not where they belong.
Anti littering messaging works remarkably well. Littering's the kind of antisocial activity where the benefit to the individual are marginal, maybe you save a bit of energy holding on to your trash until the next trashcan, but the penalties are almost non-existent, as practically no-one gets cited for littering.
A clear reminder not to litter mostly just signals to people that other people care, but that works remarkably well.
I belonged to a service org in college that required each member do like 30 hours of community service a semester. Mostly we did stuff like working at food pantries and the like, but if you didn't have time in your schedule, you could go down to the beach and wetlands and pickup trash. Perhaps not as high-impact as feeding the hungry, but it was something. Well, after a few of these trips I realized that a significant fraction of the trash we were picking up was styrofoam food containers, which was weird, since California had drastically cut back on styrofoam by that point (though the total ban only came into effect this year).
Turned out that there were exactly 2 restaurants anywhere near the wetlands that used sytrofoam food containers, so a buddy and I took it upon ourselves to go talk to them. Ideally I would talk them out of using styrofoam, but at the very least it would be good to let them know that they're single-handedly fucking up this nice slice of nature.
One of the places straight-up stopped using styrofoam altogether. Both were perfectly happy to let us hang up a sign basically saying "Hey, we collectively spend 200 hours a year trying to clean up these wetlands, please don't litter".
Food containers from those restaurants all but completely disappeared from the wetlands after that. People tend to do the right thing, but sometimes they just need a little push.
I don't understand why the local governments do such a poor job at cleaning litter. Do they not understand how bad it is? In NYC, the Bronx is utterly filthy.
Perhaps the coolest website I’ve seen this year. The amount of dedication is incredible. If you look at this cynically you will get nowhere, but if you realize something like this can inspire the next Boyan Slat, it’s fantastic.
I always bring bags/gloves/grabber with me whenever I visit the local national park. The rubbish is particularly bad in popular picnic spots, like the areas around Audley^1. The NPWS staff do a great job of keeping the parks clean, but they can't get everything. You'd be shocked how quickly you can fill a garbage bag on a short walk. The most common items by far are disposable coffee cups and cigarette packets (with nearly 100% imported packaging). Just make sure you're careful about snakes in summer. I once put my hand within striking distance when picking up a chip packet! Some of them are so well camouflaged.
I spent an enjoyable afternoon on Kailua beach snorkeling for garbage. I found a fishing pole, a complete snorkeling set, and bunches of other stuff. I just grabbed what I found, took it back to the beach, and dumped it in the garbage can. Very satisfying day.
I frequently walk 20 minutes from my house to a trailhead. Along the way, I often see annoying trash. Somehow, a freeway underpass (a road going underneath I-90) seems to be catnip to people who want to throw trash out of their cars.
Eventually I got fed up and picked up a few bags full of trash. Then I found another guy nearby who also likes picking up trash, so we had a few get-togethers where we collect 3 trash bags each. He has a connection with our city sanitation department, so they come and pick up the bags.
The same guy also runs a once-a-month litter pick up event where we meet at the post office and spend an hour picking up trash. He provides hi-viz vests, trash bags, and grabbers. Usually about 10 people show up.
Overall it puts me in a bad mood to see so much trash thrown out by shitty people.
That Pepsi can is from the days before aluminum cans. And the pull tabs all separated completely. You would see thousands of those pull tabs everywhere you stopped your car, especially where you least wanted to see them, like in National Parks.
I hope he comes to India and starts a movement, ideally leading to a public holiday tradition where everyone is supposed to pick up 10 pieces of litter.
I was super impressed that in Delhi there was no single use plastic. Little tongue depressor things instead of forks. Aluminum foil instead of plastic clam shells. Coming from Vietnam, it was amazing.
I have no doubt there is a litter problem in India, but take heart. It's not all bad.
I don't think one has to wait for someone to start a movement. I pick up plastic bottles whenever I see them and drop them in the nearest trash bin that is meant for plastic bottles. I am in Kerala though, which is comparatively cleaner than the rest of India(except the north-eastern states).
The Kerala government is pushing for better waste management now with more trash bins placed at public places and a state-wide effort to segregate waste at the source and collect it from homes.
Still people litter with abandon and it's hard to change ingrained habits.
I purchased some "grabbers" and often go near the ponds in my neighborhood to pickup litter.
There are a lot of two liter bottles which are full or half full to be found, normally right near the shore. The first couple of times I found these, I foolishly emptied them (thought this was a good idea since they are so heavy) and along with whatever kind of liquid was inside, AA batteries came out. I vaguely have memories as a child of trying to create "explosives" by putting batteries in a bottle and throwing them (after shaking everything up of course). Not sure if that is what is going on here but if so, kids haven't changed much. I am sure that the kids that put these together later regret it (like around dinner time same day), but couldn't retrieve their device for fear that it might "blow", and so they just have to hope it is deactivated with time.
The item which to me is most baffling which I find in high volumes, is dental flossing sticks. These are commonly found everywhere around the ponds. I don't believe I have ever seen someone using a dental flossing stick in public. I have looked this up and I did find something suggesting that fisherman might use these as an all-purpose tool. Still not sure what this is all about.
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 55.9 ms ] threadOne scenario: Someone sets phone on top of car and drives off.
I wonder if people are less likely to litter if they don't see any other litter already on the ground
A clear reminder not to litter mostly just signals to people that other people care, but that works remarkably well.
I belonged to a service org in college that required each member do like 30 hours of community service a semester. Mostly we did stuff like working at food pantries and the like, but if you didn't have time in your schedule, you could go down to the beach and wetlands and pickup trash. Perhaps not as high-impact as feeding the hungry, but it was something. Well, after a few of these trips I realized that a significant fraction of the trash we were picking up was styrofoam food containers, which was weird, since California had drastically cut back on styrofoam by that point (though the total ban only came into effect this year).
Turned out that there were exactly 2 restaurants anywhere near the wetlands that used sytrofoam food containers, so a buddy and I took it upon ourselves to go talk to them. Ideally I would talk them out of using styrofoam, but at the very least it would be good to let them know that they're single-handedly fucking up this nice slice of nature.
One of the places straight-up stopped using styrofoam altogether. Both were perfectly happy to let us hang up a sign basically saying "Hey, we collectively spend 200 hours a year trying to clean up these wetlands, please don't litter".
Food containers from those restaurants all but completely disappeared from the wetlands after that. People tend to do the right thing, but sometimes they just need a little push.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKHLG1iOBUA
https://greenmachines.com/
If every person picked up a piece of litter a day, the world would be exceptionally cleaner quite quickly.
I make a point to pick up any I see; you can carry dog waste bags if you're scared to touch things.
1: https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/cafes-and-...
https://www.harborfreight.com/36-in-pickup-and-reach-tool-61...
Eventually I got fed up and picked up a few bags full of trash. Then I found another guy nearby who also likes picking up trash, so we had a few get-togethers where we collect 3 trash bags each. He has a connection with our city sanitation department, so they come and pick up the bags.
The same guy also runs a once-a-month litter pick up event where we meet at the post office and spend an hour picking up trash. He provides hi-viz vests, trash bags, and grabbers. Usually about 10 people show up.
Overall it puts me in a bad mood to see so much trash thrown out by shitty people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3gK-X32cy8
He started in 2020 and the video summary was made in 2021.
I have no doubt there is a litter problem in India, but take heart. It's not all bad.
The Kerala government is pushing for better waste management now with more trash bins placed at public places and a state-wide effort to segregate waste at the source and collect it from homes.
Still people litter with abandon and it's hard to change ingrained habits.
Why is the glove photo claiming censorship? Are the gloves arranged like letters or something? Am I missing a joke?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/shortcuts/2014/jul/31/davi...
There are a lot of two liter bottles which are full or half full to be found, normally right near the shore. The first couple of times I found these, I foolishly emptied them (thought this was a good idea since they are so heavy) and along with whatever kind of liquid was inside, AA batteries came out. I vaguely have memories as a child of trying to create "explosives" by putting batteries in a bottle and throwing them (after shaking everything up of course). Not sure if that is what is going on here but if so, kids haven't changed much. I am sure that the kids that put these together later regret it (like around dinner time same day), but couldn't retrieve their device for fear that it might "blow", and so they just have to hope it is deactivated with time.
The item which to me is most baffling which I find in high volumes, is dental flossing sticks. These are commonly found everywhere around the ponds. I don't believe I have ever seen someone using a dental flossing stick in public. I have looked this up and I did find something suggesting that fisherman might use these as an all-purpose tool. Still not sure what this is all about.