Talkin' Trash
Picking up on NYCO’s suggestion, I'm making a litter-ary contribution to the CNY blogosphere: spreading the discussion kicked off by Sean Kirst in his newspaper column and on his blog about how messy our city and environs are this Earth Day.
My substantive suggestion is to copy Oakland, Ca. and their fast food packaging tax. I would try to tweak the law so that companies that demonstrated a reduction in the amount of disposable packaging used in their businesses would get a break on the tax. The money would go directly to fund DPW crews dedicated to cleaning up the city (and perhaps to DIY volunteer groups, as well.)
I don't like the military/police suggestions to crack down on litterbugs through citations and higher fines. I imagine the same phenomenon that occurs in crackdown patrols like Operation Impact would occur in any Operation Litterbug--a disproportionate targeting of poor and minority folks for violations. Yeah, that's where the violations occur, but that's not the way to get people to work together and feel like they are part of a larger whole.
Trash in the inner-city is a reflection of cynicism and fatalism. I was taught to always find a trash can and to recycle and not to litter. But I also felt that I was a valued member of my community and had a reasonably decent expectation of becoming successful in that society. Not everyone in inner-cities believes that.
In one of Sean Kirst's posts on this issue, he mentioned the message that we send to young, low-income minority youths that their lives aren't worth any more than the garbage blowing around their neighborhoods. It's worse than that--more than likely, the youths threw that garbage themselves. This is their self-image.
That's why programs like the Go Green Syracuse recycling initiative in five city elementary schools is so important. To reach young children, every effort needs to be made to give them structured activities that will not only attempt to inculcate good behaviors (don't litter) but also create a love of their natural environment. That is what will, in the long run, lead to cleaner communities.
That's why an idea like NYCO's Sojourn Day may be the most important long run step we can take to reduce trash in our communities. Reconnect with the grass, streams, dirt, paths, parks, trees, bushes, small animals, insects, flowers all around you, the stuff that you drive by every day in your S.U.V. People more in touch with their natural surroundings will be less likely to let fly their Egg Mcmuffin wrapper.
My substantive suggestion is to copy Oakland, Ca. and their fast food packaging tax. I would try to tweak the law so that companies that demonstrated a reduction in the amount of disposable packaging used in their businesses would get a break on the tax. The money would go directly to fund DPW crews dedicated to cleaning up the city (and perhaps to DIY volunteer groups, as well.)
I don't like the military/police suggestions to crack down on litterbugs through citations and higher fines. I imagine the same phenomenon that occurs in crackdown patrols like Operation Impact would occur in any Operation Litterbug--a disproportionate targeting of poor and minority folks for violations. Yeah, that's where the violations occur, but that's not the way to get people to work together and feel like they are part of a larger whole.
Trash in the inner-city is a reflection of cynicism and fatalism. I was taught to always find a trash can and to recycle and not to litter. But I also felt that I was a valued member of my community and had a reasonably decent expectation of becoming successful in that society. Not everyone in inner-cities believes that.
In one of Sean Kirst's posts on this issue, he mentioned the message that we send to young, low-income minority youths that their lives aren't worth any more than the garbage blowing around their neighborhoods. It's worse than that--more than likely, the youths threw that garbage themselves. This is their self-image.
That's why programs like the Go Green Syracuse recycling initiative in five city elementary schools is so important. To reach young children, every effort needs to be made to give them structured activities that will not only attempt to inculcate good behaviors (don't litter) but also create a love of their natural environment. That is what will, in the long run, lead to cleaner communities.
That's why an idea like NYCO's Sojourn Day may be the most important long run step we can take to reduce trash in our communities. Reconnect with the grass, streams, dirt, paths, parks, trees, bushes, small animals, insects, flowers all around you, the stuff that you drive by every day in your S.U.V. People more in touch with their natural surroundings will be less likely to let fly their Egg Mcmuffin wrapper.
