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My parents collect cans for a living

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Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#411

Post by chongli »

johnnyApplePRNG wrote: post #409
chongli wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These areas are private property: the ends of people’s driveways. The city pays for trash and recycling collection from these areas. The scavengers steal all of the profitable items (mostly metal) from people’s recycling, making the recycling program even more unprofitable than it already is.

Exactly right but why is the issue here that the city is losing out on money? The issue should be that people in our society are so desperate for income that they're literally digging through our trash for our scraps, no?

They're driving fancy pickup trucks so I wouldn't call them desperate. They are scavengers by choice. They could just as easily pick up a trade and do honest work for a living.

There is absolutely no shortage of work for skilled trades workers. My roommate is a drywall taper and he makes a lot of money. He tells me about how unreliable the other people in his trade are. There is a TON of opportunity for people who work hard and act responsibly.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#412

Post by Aachen »

thrower123 wrote: post #401
Aachen wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the idea that one takes the bottles when you go to the store anyway? At least that's what we do. We've cut down on bottle use also, but even so there's a load from time to time, and I've started buying joghurt that comes in reusable glass jars so whenever I get new ones I return the old ones.

Maybe that works if you have the infrastructure set up for that workflow. The way that it worked for us, was we saved up a year's worth of bottles and cans in the basement in 55 gallon barrels, then we took them to the local redemption place attached to the general store, where one of the high school kids that attended the full-service pumps would go sort them, which took an hour or so. If it was a good year, it paid…

I don't understand. What infrastructure do you need to setup for that workflow? Instead of having someone spend an hour on a year's worth of bottles, you could hand them five bottles that you used since the previous store visit and get your dollar in thirty seconds.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#413

Post by thrower123 »

Aachen wrote: post #412
thrower123 wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe that works if you have the infrastructure set up for that workflow. The way that it worked for us, was we saved up a year's worth of bottles and cans in the basement in 55 gallon barrels, then we took them to the local redemption place attached to the general store, where one of the high school kids that attended the full-service pumps would go sort them, which took an hour or so. If it was a good year, it paid…

I don't understand. What infrastructure do you need to setup for that workflow? Instead of having someone spend an hour on a year's worth of bottles, you could hand them five bottles that you used since the previous store visit and get your dollar in thirty seconds.

I don't recall that they'd bother sorting for you unless you had at least $10 worth. Machines did not exist and are still rare.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#414

Post by thewileyone »

Everyone does what they have to do to survive. I've delivered newspapers, delivered pizza, worked retail, stocked in a warehouse, etc. I find recyclable collecting more respectful than much higher paying jobs that take advantage and prey on the suffering of others for your benefit.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#415

Post by Aachen »

thrower123 wrote: post #413
Aachen wrote: post #412

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand. What infrastructure do you need to setup for that workflow? Instead of having someone spend an hour on a year's worth of bottles, you could hand them five bottles that you used since the previous store visit and get your dollar in thirty seconds.

I don't recall that they'd bother sorting for you unless you had at least $10 worth. Machines did not exist and are still rare.

Oh, okay that's interesting. Now I get what you mean with infrastructure. Thanks!

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#416

Post by zepearl »

joveian wrote: post #407
zepearl wrote: post #383

Language/writing question At the very end: > Now, when people ask me what my parents do for a living, I tell them not with embarrassment or shame, but with pride. In this context, is "pride" appropriate, or would "dignity" (or something else) be better? My mother tongue is italian. I understand "pride" as referring to something exceptional that was done (which doesn't seem to be the case in this article), "dignity" o…

At least in the US I think pride is now used most commonly in the sense of dignity and in the context of the article pride is the more formulaic term (all based on my general sense from random stuff I read). As in "Pride Month" or "proud to be ...". The sense you mention does also exist and would usually be the case if refering to a particular person or event and in particular when saying "proud of". Although regular…

Thank you :)

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#417

Post by johnnyApplePRNG »

chongli wrote: post #411
johnnyApplePRNG wrote: post #409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly right but why is the issue here that the city is losing out on money? The issue should be that people in our society are so desperate for income that they're literally digging through our trash for our scraps, no?

They're driving fancy pickup trucks so I wouldn't call them desperate. They are scavengers by choice. They could just as easily pick up a trade and do honest work for a living. There is absolutely no shortage of work for skilled trades workers. My roommate is a drywall taper and he makes a lot of money. He tells me about how unreliable the other people in his trade are. There is a TON of opportunity for people who wo…

I don't disagree that hard work is rewarded...

But I have never seen a bottle picker driving a pickup.

Usually they are lucky if they can find a ripped garbage bag to carry the bottles in.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#418

Post by kwhitefoot »

MomoXenosaga wrote: post #355
necovek wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I don't see a connection between homeless people and street musicians, I am intrigued by your complaint of the street musicians? My kids are fascinated by them, and as long as they are not taking up too much space to make it impossible to pass through the street (and if they do, I'll happily pass through their "stage"), I am quite happy to have the streets livened up by some music too. Not all of it is good or…

They block the shopping streets and their music is terrible. There are no empty streets in the Netherlands on a Saturday and there is nothing more depressing than a Eastern European on an accordion.

Perhaps the better Eastern European accordion players stay home. I used to visit Krakow often on business and really enjoyed listening to musicians playing in the main square. Also it wasn't just accordion players, there were all sorts, amateurs, music students, professional musicians playing a wide variety of instruments and styles.

It was worth having some cash to put in the bucket.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#419

Post by larodi »

necovek wrote: post #398
MomoXenosaga wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They block the shopping streets and their music is terrible. There are no empty streets in the Netherlands on a Saturday and there is nothing more depressing than a Eastern European on an accordion.

Btw, here in Serbia (what you'd probably call Eastern Europe :), accordions are pretty rare (I guess they all went to Netherlands :)) other than in gypsy bands (but they rarely play in the streets other than when following weddings around), but violins (usually students), keyboards and guitars (number one, duh) are most common, but you get to hear a trumpet or a flute too. We are just classy like that (or there might…

Eastern European music schools , and particular those with folklore specialties, have had a long history of master classes. It is often that one can find street talent with proper education, just because music industry pays very little in Eastern Europe.

It seems to me that in Western Europe you find mostly dégénérâtes and hippies with no formal music education at all.

One can know the difference only if he has lived in Eastern Europe.

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