Garbaggio

Viva Italia...!

THis evening I was watching news coverage of the crowds partying in Toronto last night after the Italians won the World Cup yesterday - it sounds like it was a massive party, everyone had a great time, and nobody got hurt. Hurrah for goodwill and fun!!

But the GARBAGE!! I always feel sort of stunned that it's a matter of course that the city has to send in bulldozers to clean up the garbage that gets tossed onto the street at large-scale events. In last night's case, maybe part of the problem was a lack of garbage and recycling containers - after all, it's not like little Italy is intended to handle quite that many people on a usual basis! But... it seems like a lot of partygoers at any big event consider it the city's responsability to clean up after them. I can't imagine feeling that way - I was taught to pick up after myself, not to litter, and to leave a place at least as clean as when I arrived. I've been know to carry around an empty plastic bottle with me for hours if I don't see a recycling bin.

The TV coverage from last night showed piles of garbage being collected by city workers early this morning.

This strikes me as being symptomatic of a broader North American attitude towards stewardship of our shared environment:

"I don't need it any more so I'll just dump it right here. Someone else can deal with my waste."

Lame. Irresponsible. And pretty gross.