

Why cities aren't covered in empty cans of coconut water - ValentineC
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tommy-campbell/why-cities-arent-covered-in-empty-cans-of-coconut-water_b_7950962.html

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yellowapple
> My solution was extremely complicated, yet effective, and I will try my best
> to summarise it for you: Ask them to use smaller garbage bags.

Which means more frequent trips to the dumpster. Might not be a problem for
short people, but might _very well_ be a problem for elderly or disabled
people.

The better solution here would not to have such tall dumpsters if
possible/feasible. Not all dumpsters are garguantuan, after all. Maybe you'll
need more of them, but I'm sure that's a worthwhile tradeoff.

> Since the overwhelming amount of litter is junk food in one form or another
> [...] Dumb people throw away dumb litter.

While being fully aware that people (like me) who eat fast food instead of
buying organic free-range GMO-free gluten-free kale/quinoa/tofu salads at
Whole Foods for quadruple the money might be just doing it because we're dumb,
does the author at all suspect that maybe - just maybe - people eat junk food
because they can't afford yuppie Whole Foods stuff?

Not to say that the littering is excusable. My objection is solely to the
characterization of people who eat junk food as "dumb", or that they
necessarily have a choice in the matter, rather that recognizing that poor
people aren't fictional creatures and that not everyone has the luxury of a
Whole Foods or Trader Joe's or whatever newfangled healthy yuppie organic
store is in vogue right now. That bit came across as ridiculously elitist,
whether or not the author meant it to be.

