Bin Wallace
Two times a week I go to a largish apartment block on the North side of
Only last week I forgot to take the bins out. Missing that bin collection meant that four days worth of household waste had accumulated alongside the already full bins. The local stray cats were in seventh heaven and the rats groggy from the four day fiesta. The residents were up in arms.
The mound of split black and white sacks highlighted all that I knew to be true. We are lazy. I began mechanically to investigate the contents of these bags: bottles, cardboard, paper, clothes, toys, bags of unopened tins of fresh food - all chucked away without any thought other than to consign it to the bin and be rid of it's clutter.
So what is the bin? We all know what it is. We reckon we love it and we buy eco products to save it, but when we're finished with them they still go into the bin with the rest of our detritus.
Next time you're putting the bins out, think about what's in there and why it's there. Then think about where it's going.
posted by Mark W at 9:24 am
6 Comments:
Heh Walladge, you talkin bout the lazy all buying and not all consuming humans!!
Do you think, if there was a system in place where we could systematically place different sorts of rubbish according to its recyclability and degradability (might be some made up words there, see im recycling the english language) it would make a difference. I do not. The problem is one if widespread bad attitude of seeing and buying because of a want. We are over commodified and overly attracted to buying way beyond needs. It is all very sad.
I think we should all think a little more about what we buy before thinking about what we bin. Perhaps.
Are you going to upset those apartment dwelling folk some more< and demonstrate their waste to them?!
In a strange way those bins encapsulate all that is wrong with humankind. The greed of those who illegally dump their rubbish in order to avoid paying the council to collect it. The irresponsibility of those who leave their rubbish bags beside the bins rather than in the bins. The inconsideration of those who put unrecycables into the green bins.
The selfishness of those who put recycables into the rubbish bins.
Thats why I hated those bins, they made me feel such anger and despair at the microcosmic view of the world that they presented to me, every time I was near them.
Is there a bunch of literate bin men writing on this blog?
Monkey says is battle worn bin warrior. His scars are now rotten from years of lugging those infested trolleys around. I'm getting out now, before the rot spreads.
I agree with anonoymous to an extent. The level of pre-packaged choice in the marketplace is absurd, I mean how many brands of tampons do I need?
There are choices to be made if we believe that the right thing to do is to cut back on these commodities and pick those that have less of a negative impact (useless plastic packaging).
Having said that, I'd rather be able to have my cake and eat it. Maybe i'll just have to make my own...Mr Kipling anyone?
I know a woman who takes a pair of scissors to the supermarket with her. When the shopping is run through the till she removes all the unnecessary packaging leaving it on the till for the store to deal with. Its a protest to the extent at which this unnecessary crap clutters our lives, yet people think she's mad!!
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