Disappearing Public Garbage Cans?

sje

Has anyone else noticed that the wire garbage baskets, usually on every corner, or at least every other corner, are disappearing in PH? Is the city trying to save money? If you own dogs like I do, it gets might old carrying a bag of stinking fresh shit around for 4 or 5 blocks trying to find a can to throw it in. I don't like putting it in people's personal trash cans in front of their houses, but I frequently have no choice.

I mostly walk them on Underhill, which is especially barren. What's going on? How can we get them back? 311? :evil:

metulj

Subject: Re: Disappearing Public Garbage Cans?

sje wrote: Has anyone else noticed that the wire garbage baskets, usually on every corner, or at least every other corner, are disappearing in PH? Is the city trying to save money? If you own dogs like I do, it gets might old carrying a bag of stinking fresh shit around for 4 or 5 blocks trying to find a can to throw it in. I don't like putting it in people's personal trash cans in front of their houses, but I frequently have no choice.

I mostly walk them on Underhill, which is especially barren. What's going on? How can we get them back? 311? :evil:

There isn't a trash can between 8th st and Union on 8th Ave in PS. I saw some guys loading a couple of trash cans off GAPlaza the other day too.

daisyh

I've been thinking the same thing in PS. There is exactly one public trash can between Flatbush and Union along 6th! What's the deal? I have a sneaking suspicion that the residents have something to do with it - the cans are too tacky, too declassé for the beautiful Slope. Tell me that's not the case in PH too! We're moving to PH, closing on an apartment in October - and I don't like to carry my dogs shit around for 5/6 blocks either. Kudos for not throwing it in people's garbage cans, though. I'm with you on that. I see people throw it in recycling bins all the time too. Grrrrr. (BTW, I read that garbagemen's no. 1 complaint is dog shit in garbage cans - part of the job, I know - but if you can use a plastic bag rather than paper, and tie it closed).

sje

daisyh wrote: the residents have something to do with it - the cans are too tacky, too declassé for the beautiful Slope. Tell me that's not the case in PH too!

Haha! I assure you we don't think the cans are too declassé. Oh, you made my night. Welcome to ProHo.

The thing is: there is so much loose garbage on the streets! Now we know why.

oiseau

Garbage cans cost money as do the emptying of them.

A lot of them actually get stolen (or so I was told by a Sanitation Dept. official).

sje

Who would steal those heavy, nasty things? I know they cost money to replace and empty on a regular basis, that's why I think there are less of them.

alafairnadia

the ones on vanderbilt are frequently full, too. very irritating.

will

How funny. I noticed that the garbage can on the corner of Dean and Sixth has also gone away this week. I don't have an intimate relationship with many trash cans, but this one was right outside my door.

anonymous

Instead of talking about this on the board, let's all give a call to the Community Board 8's District Office to complain about it. If eight or more of us called, it might get their attention. 718-467-5574.

anonymous

Subject: public garbage cans

I just called CB8 -- thanks for po sting the phone number -- and immediately got through to the district manager, Doris Alexander. I seem to be the first person calling on this issue, but she could not have been more pleasant. She said she'd call the Sanitation Dept. to look into it.....I also threw in a coupla more issues, like how the trash from the open garbage cans constantly blows in front of our house (just off hte corner of Prospect Place and Vanderbilt). She said she'd ask how often they empty them and will get back to me. Also I asked if we could get one of those closed garbage cans, and she said that the Santi. Dept. doesn't like them because they stink up and retain the smell, and that she brought it up at a budget meeting just last week.

emily

The closed cans are an anti-rat thing, correct?

bewitched

Wouldn't having a closed garbage can keep the rats out? I'm tired of seeing everbody's trash including my own when I leave the building every day.

jamesondean

What blows my mind is assholes who litter. Garbage can in plain sight, and whatever needs throwing away, just goes on the ground. I thought that type of behavior ended in the 70s.

whyfi

JamesonVandy wrote: What blows my mind is assholes who litter. Garbage can in plain sight, and whatever needs throwing away, just goes on the ground. I thought that type of behavior ended in the 70s.

I was standing at Park and Washington, waiting to cross Washington, and I saw two kids (10 or so) being followed by two older girls (20s, one of them a mom?). As they were turning right on to Park, one of the kids winds up and throws a glass bottle at the sidewalk! The girls don't say a word... I was fuming. I felt like shouting at them from across the street, but I knew that it wouldn't have done any good...

bluedove

JamesonVandy wrote: What blows my mind is assholes who litter. Garbage can in plain sight, and whatever needs throwing away, just goes on the ground. I thought that type of behavior ended in the 70s.

I agree wholeheartedly, but having more/better located garbage cans might at least help (for everyone other than the hardcore litterers, i.e. the just plain lazy)

It drives me nuts, for example, that the Park Place shuttle stop grounds are filled with litter, but the only garbage can is way off down a dead-end. Well of course people just toss their trash over the fence rather than go out of their way (not condoning, just saying). Would it be that hard to move the can over where it's actually near the natural traffic pattern? I bet it would cut the litter problem at least in half.

anonymous

Subject: sanitation should cut back on street sweepers

and deal with the trash barrels overflow and shortage.

Street cleaners are positively the most useless service. They just swirl the trash around and clean nothing. if the SD put more trash cans on the corners, there would be a decrease in the amount of garbage landing in the gutter.

Not to mention that Alternate Side of the Street parking SUCKS ASS!!! :evil:

vanilla

i hate when you put trash in the trash can and then 1 second later see it blow out into the street or up onto the sidewalk.

also, what's up with people not understanding the difference between the trash can and recycling?

kate

nybt wrote:
I was standing at Park and Washington, waiting to cross Washington, and I saw two kids (10 or so) being followed by two older girls (20s, one of them a mom?). As they were turning right on to Park, one of the kids winds up and throws a glass bottle at the sidewalk! The girls don't say a word... I was fuming. I felt like shouting at them from across the street, but I knew that it wouldn't have done any good...

Almost every morning I see some kid littering something breakfast related at the Park Place shuttle stop. I think littering is disgraceful in general but especially in your own neighborhood.

lnclnplcgentrifier

public garbage cans are a security risk... some places in the world have removed public cans, or resorted to those closed topped ones to reduce the risk of unwanted things like explosives being dropped in.

what confuses me is the corner of Lincoln & Washington, west side - in front of the bodega is an open can, and across Lincoln, on the opposite corner, by the bank is one of those mammoth closed-topped models.

alafairnadia

lnclnplcgentrifier wrote: public garbage cans are a security risk... some places in the world have removed public cans, or resorted to those closed topped ones to reduce the risk of unwanted things like explosives being dropped in.

what confuses me is the corner of Lincoln & Washington, west side - in front of the bodega is an open can, and across Lincoln, on the opposite corner, by the bank is one of those mammoth closed-topped models.

while I totally understand your point, I kinda doubt that public garbage cans disappearing in PH are because of security risks, unless people are hiding fake guns in them or something.

my personal theory is that garbage cans are disappearing b/c the city doesn't want to pay for garbage pick-up, so they remove a lot of them and let the others overflow. either that, or one batch of lazy garbage men 'accidentally' toss the cans into the truck.

lnclnplcgentrifier

well, on my block, i wouldn't be surprised if they were being used to hide all the shit that gets sold in this hood.

alafairnadia

lnclnplcgentrifier wrote: well, on my block, i wouldn't be surprised if they were being used to hide all the shit that gets sold in this hood.

you realize now that hundreds of DHers are going to be checking out what's in their local garbage cans in an effort to locate a stash.

lnclnplcgentrifier

yeah, maybe if there were hundreds of DHers. seems like a small, but vocal multiculti hipster crowd :-).

alafairnadia

lnclnplcgentrifier wrote: yeah, maybe if there were hundreds of DHers. seems like a small, but vocal multiculti hipster crowd :-).

hah!

candicissima

lnclnplcgentrifier wrote: yeah, maybe if there were hundreds of DHers. seems like a small, but vocal multiculti hipster crowd :-).

Hey now, there's 440 registered and at least 50 reporters on our jocks. That's enough to be canvassing! 8)

captain m

I have to say the cans by park and vanderbuilt are always present and I think in the last month one or two were actually added. I know cause I dont love carrying around my dogs poo.

KateBklyn wrote: [quote=nybt]
I was standing at Park and Washington, waiting to cross Washington, and I saw two kids (10 or so) being followed by two older girls (20s, one of them a mom?). As they were turning right on to Park, one of the kids winds up and throws a glass bottle at the sidewalk! The girls don't say a word... I was fuming. I felt like shouting at them from across the street, but I knew that it wouldn't have done any good...

Almost every morning I see some kid littering something breakfast related at the Park Place shuttle stop. I think littering is disgraceful in general but especially in your own neighborhood.

I see young kids throwing garbage on the street all the time, you know if you say anything they'll go out of their way to throw more next time. This is also a cultural thing, I hate to say it.

Do you guys think the local PD could be persuaded to start issuing fines for littering?

arielbl

Garbage cans are back!

This morning I was walking my dog and saw that my corner garbage can, missing for weeks, had been replaced with a brand-spankin-new, freshly painted, undented, "for litter only"-sticker-still-shiny garbage can.

dougzinho

Subject: Re: Disappearing Public Garbage Cans?

Hello everyone,

I'm a reporter working on a story about this subject and I want to speak to as many people with knowledge of the matter as possible. If you've noticed the absence of litter baskets/trash cans or have anything information on the subject you think I should know, please contact me at gillison-at-verizon.net

Many thanks!


Douglas

anonymous

Subject: Bwahahahahah!

It is I, Garbage-Can-Io who has taken your precious Earth garbage cans. I am using them to build the greatest weapon the Earth has ever seen. And in a few months you will all tremble under the thumb of Garbage-Can-Io!!!

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Seriously, in addition to doing reporting of garbage cans, I would recommend doing a survey of the general distribution of these things in the city.

withachaser

Subject: Re: Disappearing Public Garbage Cans?

dougzinho wrote: Hello everyone,

I'm a reporter working on a story about this subject and I want to speak to as many people with knowledge of the matter as possible. If you've noticed the absence of litter baskets/trash cans or have anything information on the subject you think I should know, please contact me at gillison-at-verizon.net

Many thanks!


Douglas

just stake out the cans on the intersection of prospect and vander. i would not be surprised if your investigation evolved into a fascinating story. and, even if not one muddled in city government malfeasance and intrigue, i think we'd all be quite curious to know what's up with this apparent garbage vortex. i have personally never seen these cans not overflowedx3, at any given hour of day or night.

thankfully, i can make sport out of balancing a bag of big-dog shit atop this mess, as the garbage-can situation on the other end at prospect and underhill is entirely transient. and at least those cans on vander are consistently there to demarkate our garbage zones.

there is definitely something strange going on, imho. plus, the sanitation crews i encounter around here appear to be in an entirely too-good mood all of the time, given the task at hand, not that i begrudge one who loves his or her work.

sje

"No Place For Poop", on the front page of the Brooklyn Papers this week. Available at the Met on Vanderbilt. A funny, well researched and thorough article! 8) Thank you, Douglas!