To clean up trash that we, or others produce? Everyone's, of course. Rebuilding Place has a post focusing on litter and the diffculties in getting people to pick the stuff up. Clean-ups can be great, even if they sometimes seem like a band-aid (and the sort of are, because the goal is to prevent the trash from getting their in the first place). Having a neighborhood clean-up (on your street or in alley) can be a good way to get to know neighbors. And if you do it long enough it can have a real impact (plus, it isn't a bad way to start off a Saturday, or Sunday morning solo now that the weather is warming up). Richard, and the piece he quotes, discuss the all too frequent indifference to littering (or trashing our environment in other ways), and the negative connotations that picking up trash has for some people. I know I've been asked, when doing organized clean-ups where I was part of a group, both if the cleaning up was court ordered, and how much I was getting paid to pick up the trash. Of course, most people get what you are doing, and many are appreciative, with the occasional person joining the effort, or donating gloves (I've seen passing contractors stop to do this).
Quite a while back a local listserv (I forget if it was the H Street one or 6A) had a bit of a discussion over what would be an effective campaign to change people's behavior. It's hard to do, and it probably needs to come from different angles. As a kid I was outside a lot and it was constantly reinforced to me how harmful littering and pollution more generally could be to the environment. So as an adult, I'm not only careful to recycle (and always puzzled and shocked when I realize that someone I know refuses to), but I also keep a compost pile (which I know some people can't do for various reasons), and I am planning to get a rain barrel. So starting early is big step up, but it's really hard to get the message to stick with the kid if he goes home and sees Mom and Dad throwing trash on the ground, illegally dumping oil, or just not recycling (and some parents are not so fond of hearing their 9 year old tell them what they should be doing).
19 comments:
Everyday I watch people right outside my house just throw their empty drink containers etc. on the ground without regard for anyone around at all. I cannot understand why people don't have enough respect for where they live that they think it is appropriate to throw their trash on the ground. Everyday I pick up at least ten articles of trash that have been placed/blown by the wind into my front yard. I was thinking about setting up a video camera to catch images of people throwing trash on the ground and then printing up their pictures and putting them around the neighborhood. Of course, the problem is that these people already have no shame so they would most likely think it was cool. I would say we need more trash cans, but I think there are enough and people wouldn't use them anyway. I was thinking perhaps we could come up with some signs we could put up around the neighborhood? Kind of like the neighborhood watch signs or the drug free zone, but perhaps Litter Free Zone? I know that it probably wouldn't do much, but it might be a start? Do the police have the power to issue on the spot fines for litter? If not, that might be something worth getting on the books? They have it in England where offenders have to pay, in cash, on the spot, a $50 fine. Thoughts?
alan kimber has a pretty nifty slogan/campaign to stop littering.
you can check it out on his website
Appealing to community pride is a good thought but anyone who trashes their own street likely doesn't have much pride. Garbage cans would be an easy fix but we've all seen people litter within arm's reach of an existing garbage can. I'm all about enforcement. I know the police are already overwelmed but I think a few tickets per week sends a message and doesn't take a lot of time away from patrols. Speaking of enforcement, start with those groups who post signs on public property all along H Street. I'm really tired of seeing tattered signs advertising some weeks-old or months-old march on every lamppost and newspaper box. The most recent and worst offender is Empower DC. Its an advocacy group for low-income DC residents and it's contributing to the blight of a low income area that struggling for a makeover. I called them and left 2 messages and have not heard back. I called DCRA and they will simply take the posters down. They will not contact the group or pursue any enforcement (I asked). Seriously, if we can't enforce against a group who leaves their name, phone number and website on each piece of litter, we are not deterring anyone.
Charles,
I sympathize, with you on the trash thing, but I doubt the photos would do much. If you have tree boxes (I forget whether or not that stretch of I Street has them), maybe you and some neighbors could plants them (if you haven't already), and do regular clean-ups. I actually feel like doing this on a regular basis is probably more effective than putting up signs. Again, it helps to get others involved.
Check out: # B17-0026
"LITTER CONTROL ADMINISTRATION AMENDMENT ACT OF 2007".
Yeah I realize that people just won't clean up after themselves, but man it makes me mad! I would be interested in helping organize an area clean up once every couple of weeks. We could all meet at my place or somewhere and then go out with trash bags in teams and clean up the streets around everywhere. Then we could publicize it. Perhaps it would encourage others to do the same? Anyone interested? Elise, if we picked a date could you publicize it? I don't know if stuff like this already happens or not because I'm relatively new to the blogging scene so I don't want to come in and reinvent the wheel. Let me know if anyone is interested.
if you pick a date and let me know, I can post it here.
I certainly dont think targeting nonprofits are the way to go. They are only a small portion of trash. Honestly, I think alot does start with education, both by parents and with schools. Even having trash cans everywhere doesnt help. I've seen people toss trash on the ground with a trash can 5 ft away.
Elise, thanks for posting this very important discussion. I usually pick up the trash on my block once a week. The frustrating thing is the ally beside my house has big items dumped that I can't dispose of (TVs, couches, mattresses, you get the idea). There's already a "No Dumping" sign. I put in a service request almost weekly and it generally takes a week for them to come and collect the trash (at tax payers expense). I really have no idea what else to do to address this problem. I'm open to suggestions. Oh, I think people are dumping during the night.
It's a never ending battle at the 8th and H bus stops. Litter seems to reproduce as fast as we pick it up.
Each weekday morning around 8 a.m., the property owners of H Street Connection (east side of 8th) and Foot Locker/Sprint (west side) sweep up the swirling paper and plastic bags, styrofoam take-out containers, chicken and rib bones, drink cups, bottles and newspapers. At the same time, D.C. DPW workers use a big vacuum machine to clear the surrounding side streets. They do a fine job. However, by 6 p.m., the relentless debris field has returned, polluting nearby residential yards with wind-blown trash. The cycle repeats daily, and worsens on weekends.
Do any best practices or success stories exist around D.C. or other urban areas? How do we stem the tide?
I wonder if there's a direct correlation between owner occupied housing and litter?
Perhaps video cameras are the answer? Or maybe if we are out cleaning things up and we take pictures or video of people dropping trash and pass it on to the police? I realize that these are both extreme things to do and would most likely not help, but I'm just throwing it out there. It drives me crazy. This morning there was a large empty can of beer and an empty bottle of vodka in my yard. I think I'm going to go out and buy a small camera for the front of my house. I'm sick of these people with no regard for others or their neighborhood. Elise, I am trying to figure out a day for a neighborhood clean up drive. I've got reserve duty for two of the next four weekends. Perhaps weekend after next weeked?
For the definitive analysis, I recommend this:
http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2005/04/every-litter-bit-hurts.html
If you don't get the process right, you won't get the right results.
And, about cleanups, they are good for community building, visibility, and volunteer recruitment. It's how I first met Elise...
About cleaning up your own area--I have done a number of experiments on this. If you clean up an area and keep it clean, there is much less in the way of litter deposited. However, it doesn't necessarily lead your neighbors to pitch in as well.
What is the status of an H Street Business Improvement District (BID)? I think this will help tremendously! As long as others continue to be irresponsible, can we afford NOT to have a BID if we want things to get better?
I don't think there are any current plans for a BID on H Street (correct me if I'm wrong). Last year there were some efforts to expand the Capitol Hill BID, but that sort of fizzled. What we have right now is a group of business and property owners on the 1200 block through the 1400 block who have set up a quasi-BID effort to help keep thing cleaner and running smoothly on the eastern end of the corridor.
Because 8th & H is a crossing point for bus lines that service a large portion of the District (X1, X2, 90, 92, 93), many of the people who wait for buses at that corner are simply passing through the neighborhood. The trash cans on the corners fill up by lunchtime every day, and people are not permitted to bring food and drink on the bus. This creates a situation where someone can get off one bus, buy lunch at McDonald's or any of the nearby carryouts, eat it while waiting for their transfer, and then simply drop their trash when it's time to get on the next bus. More (and larger) trash receptacles would provide an option for those who are conscientious enough to dispose of their trash properly. For those who couldn't care less, I'd love to see an authority figure there to call them on littering on a more regular basis. A BID or some other regular presence would be a big help.
This nexus of bus lines is also a reason that the alleys on either side of H Street between 7th and 9th often reek of urine, by the way. If you confront someone who is planning to pee in the alleys, they will almost always tell you that they are: passing through, couldn't hold it, didn't want to miss their bus, and there were no public restrooms in the area. I know because I confront at least three or four people a week in the alley next to my house.
There was an article in the Post yesterday about how NoMa's BID is up and running.
I guess it's easier to get a BID to turn a bunch of parking lots into condos/office buildings than it is to turn around an existing neighborhood.
Too bad, really. We've come quite a way, but we still have quite a way to go.
The point that Mike makes about the etiology of trash at 8th and H was something I pointed out in 2004 based on the experiences from the various cleanups. It's repeated in the previously mentioned blog entry.
In an email I wrote on the ANC6A list in response to what I think is a misguided effort to reduce the size of the opening in trash cans, I replied that one of the problems is that certain locations need additional service, including daytime pickup.
I specifically mentioned the high-use transit transfer places at 6th and H, 8th and H, 14th and H, and 8th and K.
There is a nascent cleaning effort, I don't know much about it. You'll have to check in with H St. Main Street.
The trash is quite irritating to deal with. Particularly watching some of the Abdo construction workers flinging candy wrappers, empty tall boy beer cans, and chicken bones into people's yards.
However, the number of used condoms strewn around is even more concerning and disgusting. For some reason, the Union Street side of H Street seems to be a haven for prostitution. At least once a month a different prostitute hangs out on the sidewalk looking for tricks just up to daylight. Just blocks away from a police station too.
-TSL
I apologize if this is over-simplified, or just plain wrong... the "Broken Windows" social theory suggests that small quality-of-life problems in a community that do not get addressed (such as graffiti, littering, petty crime, etc.) tend to trigger - or at least remove psychosocial barriers to - larger social ills such as crime and large-scale environmental degradation. So our entire neighborhood has a lot at stake in making sure the streets are clean and pleasant. Perhaps clean-ups should be tackled one block at a time, with small yet regular projects for both kids and adults.
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