Styrofoam

[Joe G]

Behind my house is a nature area with lots of big beautiful trees, paved trails, and a decent sized creek. Today I decided to remove the floating trash that had accumulated on the upstream side of a tree that had fallen across the river. It had been bothering me to see that mess everytime I rode my bike over the nearby bridge. So I took a rake and two trash bags, walked out on the log (no small feat), and started fishing that crap out of there.

You know how it is when you first look at a complex visual field of some sort, and you don't really see what's there at first? As I began the work, I was focused on the larger items; mostly pop and water bottles, some glass liquor bottles, a couple pairs of shoes, and the like. I thought the rest was mostly organic material (the frogs, certainly so).

I pulled out most of the bottles, tossed them on the bank, and started to work on the smaller pieces. That's when I realized how much styrofoam was there. Aside from pieces the size of a nickel on up to food containers and packaging material, I noticed that there were seemingly millions of tiny white particles interspersed among the organic stuff. The only way I could have truly cleaned them out would be to scoop ALL of it out of the river, which I was not equipped to do. Actually I couldn't even get all the palm-sized chunks out either, because there were hundreds of those as well. So I worked until the two bags I brought were pretty much at capacity, and hauled them out of there.

So that was what I found in just one small collection behind one tree trunk in one Michigan river. More styrofoam than I could possibly collect and carry out of there. Makes me want to bring my own containers the next time I go for take-out!

~

p.s., is anyone else a little creeped out to see, for instance, a pair of shorts, or shoes, or underwear left in the woods? I'm always wondering wtf happened that someone entered the woods wearing these items, and left without them.

[Chuck Nessa]

Behind my house is a nature area with lots of big beautiful trees, paved trails, and a decent sized creek. Today I decided to remove the floating trash that had accumulated on the upstream side of a tree that had fallen across the river. It had been bothering me to see that mess everytime I rode my bike over the nearby bridge. So I took a rake and two trash bags, walked out on the log (no small feat), and started fishing that crap out of there.

You know how it is when you first look at a complex visual field of some sort, and you don't really see what's there at first? As I began the work, I was focused on the larger items; mostly pop and water bottles, some glass liquor bottles, a couple pairs of shoes, and the like. I thought the rest was mostly organic material (the frogs, certainly so).

I pulled out most of the bottles, tossed them on the bank, and started to work on the smaller pieces. That's when I realized how much styrofoam was there. Aside from pieces the size of a nickel on up to food containers and packaging material, I noticed that there were seemingly millions of tiny white particles interspersed among the organic stuff. The only way I could have truly cleaned them out would be to scoop ALL of it out of the river, which I was not equipped to do. Actually I couldn't even get all the palm-sized chunks out either, because there were hundreds of those as well. So I worked until the two bags I brought were pretty much at capacity, and hauled them out of there.

So that was what I found in just one small collection behind one tree trunk in one Michigan river. More styrofoam than I could possibly collect and carry out of there. Makes me want to bring my own containers the next time I go for take-out!

~

p.s., is anyone else a little creeped out to see, for instance, a pair of shorts, or shoes, or underwear left in the woods? I'm always wondering wtf happened that someone entered the woods wearing these items, and left without them.

Joe, you have my address. Please return my underwear, shorts and shoes.

[MoGrubb]

Well, jogging worked up a huge dump and I couldn't very well put the funky drawers back on, now could I?

[.:.impossible]

Styrofoam is the worst. Anyone here who uses styrofoam for anything anymore, please find an alternative.

[DukeCity]

Finding shoes in the river is kinda odd, but the other day a guy was out with his dog here in NM and the dog pulled a shoe out of the river. Oh, and there as a leg still in the shoe!

Apparently the other shoe/leg turned up in the same river yesterday. They discovered that the victim had had both knees replaced, so they're checking serial numbers on the replacement knees.

[Jim Alfredson]

The park across the street from my house is one of the oldest in Lansing and goes right up to the Grand River. My daughter and I go over there every day to play, walk, find shells, etc.

Last Monday we went out and the entire playground portion was littered with junk. Shoes, towels (there is a free public pool in the park, too), bags, bottles, etc. It was just littered everywhere. The park service truck was parked at the pool and two guys were just sitting there, smoking cigarettes. Yapping away. Nice work if you can get it.

After about a half hour of Zora playing on the swings and slide and the park service guys doing absolutely NOTHING, I finally got fed up, found a plastic grocery bag (there were plenty on the ground) and started picking things up. I collected three grocery bags worth of trash in about 20 minutes and it made a huge difference in the look. The park guys were still sitting there smoking when I walked up to the ONLY trash can in that entire half of the park (the park takes up four city blocks and yet there are only two trash cans in the whole thing... so I can't blame people really for the mess), which happened to be by those park guys (still smoking) and threw it all away. "Thanks!" they said. Yeah... thank you for wasting my tax money.

Zora and I pick up trash once a week there.

[Joe G]

Yeah, no trash pickup in Scott Woods, and a pretty slow response to fallen trees as well. A big maple broke in half during those high winds we had a couple of weeks ago, falling across the paved path. I knew that if they didn't cut it up and get if off the trail, people would soon make a new trail off to the side. Which is exactly what happened.

[catesta]

The park across the street from my house is one of the oldest in Lansing and goes right up to the Grand River. My daughter and I go over there every day to play, walk, find shells, etc.

Last Monday we went out and the entire playground portion was littered with junk. Shoes, towels (there is a free public pool in the park, too), bags, bottles, etc. It was just littered everywhere. The park service truck was parked at the pool and two guys were just sitting there, smoking cigarettes. Yapping away. Nice work if you can get it.

After about a half hour of Zora playing on the swings and slide and the park service guys doing absolutely NOTHING, I finally got fed up, found a plastic grocery bag (there were plenty on the ground) and started picking things up. I collected three grocery bags worth of trash in about 20 minutes and it made a huge difference in the look. The park guys were still sitting there smoking when I walked up to the ONLY trash can in that entire half of the park (the park takes up four city blocks and yet there are only two trash cans in the whole thing... so I can't blame people really for the mess), which happened to be by those park guys (still smoking) and threw it all away. "Thanks!" they said. Yeah... thank you for wasting my tax money.

Zora and I pick up trash once a week there.

I bet while they watched you pick up trash they were complaining about being underpaid and how they're not going to make it when they retire at 50 with full pension.

I have some contracts with a few different parks departments and it's the same shit. For the work we do (which includes cleaning the parks) we are under strict time commitments and standards, but for their end it takes a committee of 12 to figure out how they are going to assign a crew of 20 to patch a 3'X3' section of asphalt.

[catesta]

Yeah, no trash pickup in Scott Woods, and a pretty slow response to fallen trees as well. A big maple broke in half during those high winds we had a couple of weeks ago, falling across the paved path. I knew that if they didn't cut it up and get if off the trail, people would soon make a new trail off to the side. Which is exactly what happened.

I don't know what it's like in Michigan, but out in Arizona all you need to get immediate response is complain to city council or someone with authority above the department like the city manager's office.

NY is a different story, you have to know somebody.

[Jim Alfredson]

The park across the street from my house is one of the oldest in Lansing and goes right up to the Grand River. My daughter and I go over there every day to play, walk, find shells, etc.

Last Monday we went out and the entire playground portion was littered with junk. Shoes, towels (there is a free public pool in the park, too), bags, bottles, etc. It was just littered everywhere. The park service truck was parked at the pool and two guys were just sitting there, smoking cigarettes. Yapping away. Nice work if you can get it.

After about a half hour of Zora playing on the swings and slide and the park service guys doing absolutely NOTHING, I finally got fed up, found a plastic grocery bag (there were plenty on the ground) and started picking things up. I collected three grocery bags worth of trash in about 20 minutes and it made a huge difference in the look. The park guys were still sitting there smoking when I walked up to the ONLY trash can in that entire half of the park (the park takes up four city blocks and yet there are only two trash cans in the whole thing... so I can't blame people really for the mess), which happened to be by those park guys (still smoking) and threw it all away. "Thanks!" they said. Yeah... thank you for wasting my tax money.

Zora and I pick up trash once a week there.

I bet while they watched you pick up trash they were complaining about being underpaid and how they're not going to make it when they retire at 50 with full pension.

I have some contracts with a few different parks departments and it's the same shit. For the work we do (which includes cleaning the parks) we are under strict time commitments and standards, but for their end it takes a committee of 12 to figure out how they are going to assign a crew of 20 to patch a 3'X3' section of asphalt.

The thing that I absolutely do not understand is why there are only two trash cans in the entire park, which like I mentioned, spans four city blocks. They have one trash can near the public pool (which is on the east side of the park) and one over by the other playground / jungle gym area, which is on the west side of the park, way on the opposite side. That's it. And the one on the west side is just a 50 gallon barrel that they take away during the winter (so in the winter, the trash is even worse). The one on the east side is a permanent installation.

Just another example of classism in America. You go over to Francis Park, which is in the rich section of town (just a few blocks from my house, down the river a bit, across Martin Luther King Blvd (insert Chris Rock joke here)), and the place looks like a Victorian garden! Rose bushes, beautiful manicured hedges, the grass is mowed, trash bins everywhere, etc. etc.

[catesta]

That other park must be maintained by a contractor.

[Kalo]

Not enough trash cans in my neighborhood, either.

I'm always picking up trash in front of my house (rental) that others just toss there.

I guess that this is just the sort of thing that gets people motivated to engage with local government.

I'm on the verge, I must say.