And ye shall know them by their trail of trash
That is a picture of some sort of spent firework on my kitchen roof. But all in all it was a tolerable 4th weekend. None of the pre-teens or teenagers managed to blow off any of their fingers or put out an eye, though making very good attempts to do so for the past few days. Someone did call the police (not I), a cruiser came by and the police said something to the kids that made them stop for all of 5 minutes.
There was the annual display of fireworks on the corner and it seems that it wasn't as big as last year. Walking around, other corners like 3rd and R, and spaces (yard of JF Cook) were used for DIY displays as firework junk lays strewn all over on the street.
For my own block I am thankful we have 3 gentlemen who voluntarily clean up. There is alley cleaning man, who has been cleaning the alley behind me for as long as I can remember. He occasionally puts up tersely written signs about dumping and throwing "your" trash around. He got up most of the debris left by the neighbors across the way who were setting off fireworks in the alley. Bry, when he isn't out of town supervising Christian missions in malaria infested countries, cleans our street, sometimes the block over. One time I spotted him cleaning the other side of New Jersey Avenue and I yelled at him. His competitor and sub (when Bry is out of town) is J. who also cleans our street, going down the sidewalk with broom and trash can. So most of the firework debris on our street has been taken care of, except the stuff the kids were blowing up yesterday evening.
Labels: trash
Dude, Where's My Trash/Recycle Bin?
Ever come back from work to a sidewalk or alley strewn with trash and recycle bins tossed around as if a hurricane had blown through. You look among the bins laying on their sides, searching for the one that is yours, but most of them all look alike. And maybe, and I hope not, you may discover the one that is yours, is gone.
This is my little service announcement to tell you to put your address on your trash and recycle bin. Not in magic marker, as that fades, but feel free to use it on the inner lid. It doesn't fade as quickly there. Paint. Use paint, it lasts longer. Do the lid and the sides. And try to put your whole address if possible. I once discovered a Bloomingdale recycle bin on my TC block. Luckily, the owners had put the street address on the bin, so I rolled it on over, across Florida Avenue, over to the address listed. I hope it was NW.
Also, for myself, does anyone have one of those old square recycle bins they aren't using? I would like an extra container to grow tomatoes in.
Labels: trash
Trash Day and trash cans
Because today is a holiday, your normal trash day will be the next day. Like if today was your trash day, then tomorrow your trash will get picked up. So that's when your trash cans should be out on the curb or in the alley. But you can be like a lot of people and ignore all that and put it out when you normally set it out and let it sit for an extra day. Then while it is bulging with trash the feral cats, the psycho squirrels, and birds will check it out and strew garbage all out on the street.
Over on one of the hood listservs trashcans seem to getting kidnapped by handimen. I'm amazed how few of the cans on my block get napped. I mean they sit on the sidewalk, not inside the yards, and unmarked. If that don't scream TAKE ME, I don't know what does. I guess it depends on who is doing work in your area and if they need to "borrow" your can.
Labels: trash
Adventures in Diversity: Trash
This weekend I spied that the neighbors put their big green trash bin out and their blue bin was overflowing with trash in bags. For those of you who don't know, the blue bin is for recycling. Also we don't have trash pick up on the weekends.
This is where I became the buttinsky neighbor. I took the trash bag on top and threw it into one of the other neighbor's not-so-full trash cans. Then I grabbed a brochure from DPW I had stuck to the fridge and walked over to the recycling offender's house. I knocked on the door and the kids answered. I said that the city wasn't collecting trash that day and they won't take trash from the recycling cans. I got a wide-eyed saucer look and they yelled something back to their mom in the rear of the house. Mom came to the front, I tried to explain myself and then handed her the brochure.
I should mention, Mom does not speak English. Or Spanish, that other great American language. I'm not really sure if the kids speak English either. Dad speaks perfect English, however, Dad wasn't home.
Also this is not the first time I have made attempts to explain the trash/ recycling system to the family. When they first moved in their trash can never got to the curb. They would fill it. But it never moved to the spot where the garbage men would take it. I mentioned it to the son, but he just smiled and nodded. It still did not move until I moved it. Once that was done, they figured it out.
I have no idea what language the family speaks. I understand that their native land is diverse with several ethnic groups and a couple of languages.... Well that's what I sort of remember from a speech given at some street fair in Adams Morgan.
The DPW brochure has a bunch of big pictures showing what kinds of materials go into the blue bin. Hopefully, this will help in my evil plan to impose my western recycling values. Next, imposing my anti-littering values on the native population.
Labels: trash
If you are going to illegally dump, don't leave your calling card
Hot young Kris Kringle (aka
Jimbo) knows when
you've been dumping. He's ticked and reporting you.
Yes, you on the 900 block of T Street, NW and Westminster. On the off-chance 'someone' grabbed your boxes that you put out for recycling... did you break the boxes down? People if you are recycling boxes, you need to break them down.
Labels: trash
I need a mini-can
I have a large supercan. With 1 or 2 people I tend to put the trash out maybe once a month or every 3 weeks. My alley is too small for the trash truck to come through and so my side of the street has to put the cans out on the sidewalk. Several of my neighbors have just taken to leaving the cans on the sidewalk. Which is "improper trash storage", but I'm not going there. No, I don't need a supercan. I need a mini-can. I spotted a few minicans in other neighborhoods, in front of houses with obviously no yard space. They are the size of the blue recycle cans. My recycle can goes to the curb more often than my supercan. My yard is too small for the supercan. My backyard could do without the hulking ugly that is my supercan. But am I willing to deal with
DPW to try to get a minican and be all different?
Labels: government, trash
That is a picture of some sort of spent firework on my kitchen roof. But all in all it was a tolerable 4th weekend. None of the pre-teens or teenagers managed to blow off any of their fingers or put out an eye, though making very good attempts to do so for the past few days. Someone did call the police (not I), a cruiser came by and the police said something to the kids that made them stop for all of 5 minutes.
