Bottle Deposit

When I was a child my family would often go to spend a few days by the water in Malibu. My dad would hitch up the 16 foot camping trailer to our Ford station wagon. (yes, the same one that I once released the parking brake on and consequently rolled across the street up onto the neighbors lawn. All my dad said was, "don't do that again." I was seven. I guess the lesson stayed with me because I've not done it since). Anyway, we go off into the sunset on a Friday evening and wake up on the beach for the weekend or sometimes for a couple of weeks when it was vacation time. I would get up really early with the sun and wanted to be off doing stuff when every one else wanted to sleep, so my dad suggested that I go along the shore and retrieve the bottles scattered from the day before by the idiots of that time and cash them in. I took to this idea with a vengeance and when I made ten bucks the very first day I was hooked. My summer mornings were filled with the clank of all sorts of bottles each of which had a deposit on them between a nickel and twenty cents. I was happy because I was making money. At the same time I was performing a service by keeping the beach clear of bottles. It was a good deal all around with perhaps the exception of one person - the old wino who lost out to me each day because I was up a hell of a lot earlier than him. I'm sure that for the times I spent on the beaches of Malibu his times of sobriety were of equal measure. It looks like New Jersey is about to take a step toward a cleaner world. Good times...

City LiTTERfe

This is the experimental film I just completed and posted on youtube.

A Ridiculous Proposal - Right?

I need to begin with this: I found this image on a government site for the state of Missouri and frankly I'd like to see these sorts of signs around NYC. More than that I'd like to see actual enforcement. I want to see those people who consciously or unconsciously drop papers, plastics, or whatever happens to be in their hands at any given moment - end up with tickets in their hands. Even if they don't end up paying a fine I think that spending a day or so trying to cut through the red tape might make them think twice the next time they have something to throw away.

But on with the proposal: It's very simple really. I would like to see any company that provides logo bearing materials to along with it's products (IE: shoe boxes, fast food wrappers, cups, cigarettes, condoms, gums, candies, bottled waters, soft drink containers, hard drink bottles, computer packaging and on and on...) being held responsible to offer cash back for the return of such items or to contribute to centralized collections centers which would then pay cash for such pieces of detritus. These companies wouldn't need to spend a lot (pennies per item), and their contribution to our environment would be great. Then they could blah, blah, blah all over the place about how they're working to clean up the planet. As things are now, the way I see it is that each and every MacDonald's bag or cup or wrapper that's left to rot before our eyes is an illegal advertising placement. If each one of those items were replaced by a sign on a stick advertising those products - MacDonald's would be fined and the signs would be removed. But they're not signs - they're just trash left over from someone' gross-out meal. Nevertheless MickyDs has it's name plastered everywhere we look and they've washed their hands of the whole thing. Their defense (as they might present it): "hey we just sold the stuff. The customer owns it now. What they do with it is up to them and we truly believe they should place such things in the proper containers."

Give me a break. Yes, please, I would like a break today - a break from advertising tyranny and corporate irresponsibility, a break from litter that often works its way into our overburdened oceans. A break from an littered environment

We all deserve a break today. Don't you agree, Ronald Mac Donald - icon to children everywhere?

Everything's Connected

I came across this little item and cannot help but see the relationship between what we do each and every day and the planet's dilemma. From my way of thinking (and I know that everyone does not share this view) all of life emanates from each individual person and coalesces into what we know and agree upon as reality. Therefore if we want things to change globally it is up to each of us to transform ourselves personally.

Each instance of litter is an example, a reminder if you will, of something that needs to be paid attention to. Picking it up and encouraging that practice on the level of community is needed action. Litter then, is the signifier of larger issues that can be addressed by individual action.

Breathe deeply.

Trash Stash Evolution

As small as this blurb is it actually contains some very good news for the environment and for the issue of what to do with those recycling items. The article points to the idea that we will soon be moving to using a single container system for all disposables and it will all get sorted on the other end. No more special containers no more sorting for the consumer! Yes.

Further, even though the MTA has made no announcement of any kind to let people know they are already using this system on all platforms and throughout the system. If you look carefully at the bottom of the photo of the sticker that has been afixed to all of the containers you will see a line that states, "Subway litter is recycled after collection." Amazing! One would think with all the negative press they get for all of the truly stupid decisions they make having to do with the use of funds, they they would welcome something to crow about. Ah well. Anyway, I'm personally happy to know that I no longer need to haul that newspaper, or recyclable bottle home in order to assure that it will be recycled properly - I can just place it any one of the hundreds of receptacles in the subway system and know that it will be taken care of. Yippie!