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We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

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Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#71

Post by atombender »

MisterTea wrote: post #69
atombender wrote: post #37

Cigarette butts seem to be the most common by count , but what about weight and volume? On the streets of NYC, I don't really notice the cigarettes, but I do notice the enormous amount of plastic bags (much of it stuck in trees), plastic or paper cups, straws, takeout containers. And gum. If you ever look at a sidewalk and see dark splotches [1], that's discarded chewing gum. It's absolutely everywhere. Not as invasi…

> NYC's sanitation workers are notoriously careless about handling the trash, and my pet theory is that a sizable portion of street litter actually originates in the sanitation workers spilling trash on pickup day. DSNY, aka Sanitation, does not pick up trash from commercial businesses, only residencies. Businesses have to hire a private carter. Private carters are notorious for not giving two fucks. They have also b…

I frequently see DSNY workers spill trash around when it's been improperly bagged, or the bag rips, or similar things. That shouldn't matter, but they don't care.

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#72

Post by roguecoder »

irrational wrote: post #4

This was a fascinating read. I'm surprised tobacco is the number 1 litter. I rarely see people smoking anymore where I live, so I would assume it would not be a top contributor to litter. Is smoking still very prevalent in San Fransisco?

Yes: people smoke walking down the street all the time. It is a real challenge having asthma.

I blame the lack of a real winter. In the northeast people quit smoking when it was banned indoors, because they didn't want to smoke in the freezing cold snow, whereas in SF people just go outside all year around.

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#73

Post by roguecoder »

chrischen wrote: post #53
twic wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cigarette butts, lottery tickets, and coffee cups - the detritus of addiction. Is there a connection there?

I think the connection is probably poverty. They gives less of a ____.

Even if that is true, it is more likely the result of poverty being inherently stressful and requiring the use of cognitive resources rich people can spend on other things (https://zhaolab.psych.ubc.ca/pdfs/Zhao_2013_Science.pdf)

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#74

Post by roguecoder »

Tharkun wrote: post #8
olliej wrote: post #3

I’d be interested in seeing the correlation with the existence (or not) of trashcans. Huge swathes of commercial/retail areas in SF have no/few trashcans, and I would assume that there’s a limit to how long people will carry trash/empty containers before just dropping them on the ground

I've noticed a similar pattern in my neighbourhood. No rubbish bins and plenty of littering. When I approached the city council about this, I was told they wouldn't install rubbish bins because -- I kid you not -- that would encourage people to put their waste in the bins... It's not uncommon to see less well-off people walk around town, putting a little bit of rubbish into any bin they pass. It's risky, because fine…

That seems like it would be easy to solve by delivering each household a minimum number of bags and then charging for using extra, instead of making the tax maximally-regressive.

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#75

Post by Gibbon1 »

diogenescynic wrote: post #18

Love this article because it's something that has also intrigued me. I used to live in the Inner Richmond and someone would always dump a big pile of trash near the corner of my block. Finally I got sick of this and rummaged through the trash and found some bank statements and RX bottles (all with the same name and address). I called the person and sent a photo with their trash and told them to find somewhere else to…

If you report to the city they'll fine them for that.

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#76

Post by chrischen »

roguecoder wrote: post #73
chrischen wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the connection is probably poverty. They gives less of a ____.

Even if that is true, it is more likely the result of poverty being inherently stressful and requiring the use of cognitive resources rich people can spend on other things ( https://zhaolab.psych.ubc.ca/pdfs/Zhao_2013_Science.pdf )

Yes, that's what not giving a ___ is. But I don't think it's always stress, it could also be different priorities.

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#77

Post by Gibbon1 »

olliej wrote: post #3

I’d be interested in seeing the correlation with the existence (or not) of trashcans. Huge swathes of commercial/retail areas in SF have no/few trashcans, and I would assume that there’s a limit to how long people will carry trash/empty containers before just dropping them on the ground

I visited a friend in South America. The city was, and I just checked still quite clean. My friend said the reason was city took over the trash service (which got them in trouble with the IMF) and put out dumpsters every few blocks. Soon as it was 'free' people stopped dumping trash on the street. Two answer the question people at least there would carry a bag of trash a few blocks.

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#78

Post by Craighead »

atombender wrote: post #71
MisterTea wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> NYC's sanitation workers are notoriously careless about handling the trash, and my pet theory is that a sizable portion of street litter actually originates in the sanitation workers spilling trash on pickup day. DSNY, aka Sanitation, does not pick up trash from commercial businesses, only residencies. Businesses have to hire a private carter. Private carters are notorious for not giving two fucks. They have also b…

I frequently see DSNY workers spill trash around when it's been improperly bagged, or the bag rips, or similar things. That shouldn't matter, but they don't care.

and I constantly see private sanitation companies driving on the wrong side of the road, picking up half the litter they should, and then speeding off

Anecdotes dont mean much

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#79

Post by waynecochran »

cjensen wrote: post #67
waynecochran wrote: post #60

I am surprised that poop wasn't mentioned. Nor drug paraphernalia. That kills the attractiveness of SF far more than anything else.

Both were mentioned, you just missed it :-)

You're right. One single sentence with the poop emoji used and the mention of used needles. No wonder I missed it.

Re: We picked up, tracked, and analyzed 130k pieces of litter in SF

#80

Post by atombender »

Craighead wrote: post #78
atombender wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I frequently see DSNY workers spill trash around when it's been improperly bagged, or the bag rips, or similar things. That shouldn't matter, but they don't care.

and I constantly see private sanitation companies driving on the wrong side of the road, picking up half the litter they should, and then speeding off Anecdotes dont mean much

So they're both bad. My point is that not only do people litter, the normal trash-handling process is also failing.
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