It’s never dirty when you want it to be

I’ve been paying attention to litter patterns in my neighborhood, and along the paths I walk to work and to school–which streets and what time of day the most litter can be found.

I took my camera out on a Thursday in the middle of the day in SoHo, hoping to shoot some B-roll of particularly littered corners. Trouble was, I didn’t find any. I could find bits of litter here and there, but not the visual I was looking for.

And so I decided to stake out a stretch of street with no trash can nearby, camera in hand, to catch someone in the act of littering. I was a bit nervous about confronting them (would I be cussed out, or just ignored?). But I knew I needed to hear their explanations and responses.

I waited on that street for about 45 minutes. No one littered. Not even so much as a cigarette butt. I watched several people with trash in their hands walk for a minute or two until they reached the trash can on the corner and responsibly disposed of it.

I felt encouraged after this day (though a bit concerned about getting content for my project). Not as much trash as I thought, not as many litterers as I expected…

I returned my camera to the school, got some dinner, and began my walk home. Suddenly, there was trash everywhere! The corner of 14th St. and First Avenue was covered with dirty copies of that day’s free papers, coffee cups, cigarette butts, flyers for nearby restaurants… And then, as I continued walking down 14th St., a young man dropped his food wrapper on top of the subway grate right before my eyes. Of course, I was without my camera!

I thought it would be so simple to walk out and find the litter and litterers. But now, I have actually started to plot a bit of a timetable with where and when I can find these trashy spots so that next time, I won’t be cameraless!

Trash in a trash can can be a crime…

In mid-August, the New York City Council passed a bill to quadruple the fines for dumping personal garbage into public trash cans. For repeat offenders, it could cost you as much as $400 to leave your Chinese takeout containers in the bin on the corner. (Read the amNY article.)

The reasoning, according to supporters of the bill, is that much of the city’s litter doesn’t come from people dropping trash as they walk down the streets, but from trash that overflows from full bins and blows where it will. After a few weeks of paying attention to trash cans and litter in the city, I’ll vouch for that. I’ve watched people carefully place their empty coffee cups on top of overflowing bins, only to watch it blow out a few minutes later and roll across the street.

But the bill raises (at least) two questions of concern: how will they identify offenders, and why don’t they simply place more trash bins around the city?

Beyond seeing New Yorkers drop their trash bags in public bins firsthand, as the amNY article explains, sanitation workers are free to dig through bags of trash left in public containers to look for identifying materials, such as mail. Is this an invasion of privacy? What if everyone just shreds their mail?

As for the second question, the city argues that the existing bins are emptied daily and that they shouldn’t be filled in 24 hours just by “legal litter.” Also, if someone thinks a corner needs another trash bin, they can request one on the city’s website. What else can be done to keep space in the public bins?

Give a hoot and stomp out the litter campaigns

Last year, the NYC Mayor’s Fund sponsored a now-defunct anti-litter campaign they called “Stomp the Litter.” It featured the cast of the Broadway show Stomp pushing brooms rhythmically throughout the city. Ironically, throughout the entire 60 seconds of watching them sweep around Central Park, Staten Island and the Bronx Zoo in the promotional video (still available for your viewing pleasure at www.nyc.gov/html/fund/html/projects/stompoutlitter.shtml), I never actually saw them pick up a single piece of trash. I also did not see any improvement in the cleanliness of New York streets in the months following the launch of this campaign.

And so the city has resorted to scare tactics.

Last week, I was riding the 7 train in from Queens (why I was there is a story for another blog entirely). There was an “MTA Subtalk” sign beside the door with “flame”-red writing that read, “ Litter gets on the tracks and catches fire, and that causes train delays…a little litter goes a long way.” Still, with the threat of fire AND train delays, the trash remains.

And so I am left wandering, do anti-litter campaigns actually inspire anyone to stop littering?

I remember one time, when I was 5 or 6 years old, and Woodsy the Owl had just visited my kindergarten class. I was outside the supermarket with my mom and I watched someone drop a piece of trash on the street. Shocked at what I had seen, I immediately stepped in front of the offender and dutifully quoted what I learned in school that day: “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!”

Luckily, since I was quite cute in my younger days, the “polluter” turned red only from embarrassment and quickly picked up their trash. (I have a feeling that, at 26, as I get set to confront some litterers on the streets of New York, I may get quite a different response.)

Woodsy worked. Of course, I was an impressionable kid.

Perhaps anti-litter campaigns should take place only at elementary schools. Dora, the Anti-litter Explorer? Soak up litter with Sponge Bob? Better suggestions…?

One man’s trash…

Justin Gignac is 27 years old. He is a college graduate, former MTV production assistant and has had a brief but successful stint as an advertising executive.

But this afternoon, Justin could be found wondering SoHo with a black trash bag in his gloved hand, picking up litter from the crowded streets. It’s become a familiar routine for the Connecticut native.

The common misconception is that he is simply a good Samaritan, helping to clean up the notoriously littered streets of the Big Apple. But his t-shirt, which reads “Thank you for littering,” gives him away.

The truth is that this is how Justin now makes his living: collecting little pieces of New York life, which he then seals in clear plastic boxes labeled “Garbage, New York City” and sells for $50 to $100 each. (Available on his website, www.nycgarbage.com)

Last week, Justin sold his thousandth box.

“I guess if no one littered, I’d be out of a job,” Justin said as he bent to pick up a copy of today’s Village Voice crumpled on the Bleeker Street sidewalk. “But I don’t think there’s any danger of that.”

Intrigued? Follow this link to see my video on Mr. Gignac.

And so it begins

For the next three months, I will be immersing myself in the trashier side of journalism. No, not celebrity gossip or fashion or even politics, but ACTUAL TRASH as I explore the issue of littering in New York City.

Should littering be a crime, or an individual choice? Is it ruining the city, or is it part of the landscape? Should we give a hoot and never pollute, or just throw our lunch remains at the environmentalist whiners?

There will be editorials and feature stories, photos and podcasts. You’ll meet embarrassed litterers, frustrated store owners and a man who makes his living with garbage art.

Check back soon…