A daily ritual in this country is to discard items into a trash recepticle. As the container fills, it is then consolidated into a larger can which is placed in a location for the local sanitation department to pick up and remove in a truck. Aside from the general ecological discussion which could begin at this point, there are some items that are verbotten to remove.
Have you ever tried to throw away an old garbage can? Or just the lid for that matter? If you place this at the street, even with a note of explanation, you will find it empty and at the roadside the next day. Even if your trash can was stolen and the lid only left behind, you will find it frustrating to get rid of the lid. To investigate this process once and for all, I located an early manuscript from Roman times. These manuscripts are in a vulgar Latin (trash talk), but refer to a secret and solemn ceremony that these apprentice garbage workers were subjected to before becoming journeyman trashmen. One vow that was taken at that time was to always separate garbage from the can and leave the can. Unfortunately, this meant that the can itself would never be removed, simply emptied.
The best strategy is to take that old trash can to one of the new "Cans to Tans" centers popping up in metropolitan areas (especially on the west coast). For every old can you bring in, you get tanning center credit. What could be more beautiful and Earth friendly? Your old can will be matched with a new home, likely a home that could not have a can of their own. If a new home is not found, the can may be released into the wild (a metropolitan alley in NYC or Chicago).
For more info refer the Canstotans website or Recycling: May the circle be unbroken (a soon to be released throwaway journal.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
nice. of course, the trash can was invented in france after the wars when all the fortified cities needed places to put the extra rock and dead bodies, so this issue of getting rid of trash cans is ever present here as well. it's no wonder people are hesitant in picking up trash cans once they have a home, however, because the adoption agency is overloaded at the moment. i know that in just this area alone, from lacoste to bonnieux, there is an overpopulation of homeless trashcans lining the streets, hoping to catch a ride to marsielle or avignon, and many carjackings have occurred because of this.
Another item that cannot be thrown away was discovered over the weekend: LP Gas cannisters. While celebrating EARTH DAY 2007, I took a threesome of gas cannisters from old gas grills to the hazardous waste disposal location. THEY WERE REFUSED AS TOO DANGEROUS! So I brought them back home. Apparently old gas is not something anyone wants to talk about or acknowledge. Future archeologists will think we were hoarding these for a special purpose when they are found around most every home. I'm going to try GAS-X.
We the legal aliens of Lacoste are anxiously awaiting your arrival this weekend. Happy Travels, Monsieur P.
Post a Comment