beautiful green scenery
For my first hour of observation in the month of October, I found a spot in the city center of Angers, France. Within just a few minutes of sitting down, a little eight-legged, albino looking creature came near me.
Chiracanthium inclusum
The natural habitat for this Yellow Sac Spider “is outdoors in grass, shrubs, and other vegetation” (“Yellow”). I’ve never seen a spider of a yellowish tone, but apparently “research shows that their body colors slightly reflect the color of the insect most recently consumed” (“Yellow”).
Moreover, I witnessed the city of Angers’ trash disposal crew picking up the trash bags from the city center.
Angers trash disposal caught in action
The trash system is strictly manual labor in France, whereas in the United States there’s one person driving a trash collection truck who merely presses a button and an automated pulley picks up the trash can and releases everything into the truck (Clark).
your typical trash truck in the United States
Photo Credits: Clark, Bryan.
Not only did I notice the difference in the trash pickup system between Angers and Texas, but also in their recycling efforts. For instance, I have only seen one blue, recycling trashcan in Angers.
Spotted: blue recycling bin in an Angers suburb… it exists!
I believe cities that enforce recycling are making it easier for change within the community. If a city gives their citizens a blue trashcan alongside their normal trashcan, then that will encourage them to want to recycle because they already have the trashcan so it is fairly convenient. In Austin, Texas, residents have three trash bins outside their house.
“One bin is for recyclable materials and one is for trash. The third bin is filled with food scraps that will be taken away and turned into compost, part of the city’s goal is to eliminate ninety percent of the waste it sends to landfills by 2040” (Strom).
Another matter I took note of was the fact that all public trashcans in France are fairly small. It is either a small bin or a metal ring with a plastic bag in it.
typical trash can in Angers, France
Of course the trash is going to fill up quickly, especially in a big city. People will most likely drop the trash on the floor next to the trashcan thinking they did the effort to throw it away, yet it’s not their fault that the trash can was full – resulting in littering.
In addition to the trash disposal differences, I see many more used cigarettes on the streets of France in comparison to Texas. Granted, it is much more common for anyone to smoke cigarettes in France, but I cannot walk down any street without seeing at least five used ones on the street.
there’s definitely more where that came from
There is a huge economic and environmental impact of cigarette litter. In fact, “tobacco litter represents nearly 32% of all litter in outdoor recreation areas” and “it is the number one most littered item anywhere” (“Cigarette”). Personally, I never really paid attention to the abundance of cigarette butts on the floor until France and I continue to be amazed with the increasing quantities I find.
During October, I traveled to Milan, Italy for the World Food Expo. Given the vast amount of people from all over the world visiting, I assumed I was going to find lots of trash on the floor. However, the streets were surprisingly clean! There were many trash crew-members using a clasp-like tool on a stick to pick up any litter.
as you can see, the streets are litter-free!
Also, every so often there was a truck that came around and the driver got off to collect the trash bags that were full.
lots of people = lots of trash
Outside of the Expo in the streets of Milan, I came across a huge pile of trash bags on the sidewalk near the street.
so bizarre
Dumpsters aren’t very common in Milan, but I found it very interesting that one person left their trash on the side of the curb and others followed as if it were common or acceptable.
Not far from there, I saw the exact same thing!
not a single trash can nearby… just a random pile of trash
Furthermore, another city I visited was Florence, Italy. I visited Piazza Michelangelo, which is a big touristy site because it has Michelangelo’s statue of David and a beautiful view of the city. That being said, I found an incredible amount of littering, which took away from my experience because it’s saddening to know that tourists or temporary guests of that city would do that in a place that they’re visiting for a few days.
with a trash can RIGHT THERE, people still seem to litter
After all, “clean communities have a better chance of attracting new business, residents, and tourists” (“Littering”). As Aldo Leopold stated, we have to “give the nature-seeking public what it wants” (Leopold 167).
On a more positive note, Florence has large trash bins throughout the city that separates organic and residual waste.
large trash bins all around Florence
By comparing Milan and Florence, I could see that Milan lacks public trash bins around the city, whereas Florence has them throughout.
Florence’s city trash crew uses a machine with a strong vacuum to pick up litter on the floor. I thought this was a faster, more innovative way of restoring a city’s cleanliness.
clean up around the Duomo
Also, I saw an abundance of moss growing on trees in Florence. To say the least, Florence was very green and full of color.
Bryophyta growing on a slanted tree
more Bryophyta
It was interesting to be able to compare the trash systems and waste between the United States and France. But more importantly, to visually and statistically relate the different countries I have visited back to my home country: the United States. Just how Michael Bess stated,
“As we travel abroad within this subset of the world’s nations, we are likely to find that the similarities from country to country are simply too striking to ignore” (Bess 241).
Works Cited
1. Bess, Michael. The Light Green Society. The University of Chicago Press: 2003. Print.
2. “Cigarette Litter and the Environment.” Guide to Cigarette Litter Prevention. N.p. 2008. http://preventcigarettelitter.org/why_it_matters/environment.html
3. Clark, Bryan. “Council to Consider Shift To Automated Garbage Collection.” Post Register. 3 June 2014. http://www.postregister.com/articles/featured-news/2014/06/03/council-consider-shift-automated-garbage-collection
4. Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press: 1949. Print.
5. “Littering Facts and Statistics.” Green Eco Services. 21 March 2009. http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/
6. Strom, Stephanie. “Recycling the Leftovers.” The New York Times. 16 May 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/17/business/cities-and-companies-tackle-the-food-waste-problem.html?_r=1
7. “Yellow Sac Spider.” Insect Identification. 15 March 2014. http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Yellow-Sac-Spider