WASTE NOT IN NEW ORLEANS

Waste Not
By Debbie Lindsey

Litter, according to the dictionary, is defined as articles scattered in a slovenly manner; scattered rubbish; a condition of disorder, dysfunction, or confusion.
When I first moved to New Orleans I was so smitten by her that I overlooked one of the more aberrant traits of my new city. I told myself that she was just very third world, eccentric and unbridled. Before long I began to see the litter for what it was – a symptom of disrespect, disregard, a lack of self-esteem. New Orleans is not alone in this, but I tend to believe she leads the pack.
“Come on, what’s the big deal? We have somewhat more pressing issues to face nowadays. So what’s a few gum wrappers under foot?”
Well, for one thing, it’s many things. If only littering were confined to a small gum wrapper. We’ve become numb to the garbage that surrounds our businesses, homes and schools. We obtusely step about the debris as if the waste were merely autumn leaves or pinecones under foot. Occasionally we notice that that pinecone is actually a pile of feces and those leaves an array of smashed go-cups and food wrappers. Only when Sidney Torres’ army began sweeping our French Quarter and tourists applauded the results did many even realize how bad it had been.
I ask why, why do we need someone to clean behind us as if we were a bunch of ill-behaved children? If the city were to pay Mr. Torres to sweep the projects clean I betcha we’d hear some outcry over that. But it’s okay for the director of some fancy art gallery to flip her cigarette butt into the gutter of Royal street and wait for some hard workin’ smuck to sweep it away.
Our tourists toss their beer cups to the street with no more regard than if they were sneezes. But I am willing to bet you that they think twice when back home. Do you think these visitors treat their streets like a city dump back home? I doubt it. Neither all our guests nor all our residents backhand our city with trash – some rail against it and some even stoop down to pick up the thoughtless droppings of others.
Am I sensing some eye rolling out there? For those who still think I am on a little-ole-lady-rant against a few gum wrappers or a go cup during Mardi Gras let’s look at what is litter and make it a bit more personal. I ask you to visualize our everyday litter in your living room or your child’s classroom. Now picture: sticky wads of gum, chicken bones, crawfish heads, to-cups and styrofoam boxes with half eaten food (throw in a few rats munching happily), dog feces, human feces, a syringe, hundreds of cigarette butts, motor oil bottles, broken beer bottles, plastic water and soda bottles, Red Bull cans (no wings to fly to trash bins), used condoms. Well, you get the picture.
Oh and what about the litter you can’t readily see?
Toxic waste. Littering is a daily occurrence that goes far beyond being a nuisance crime. Most weed killers are poisonous, especially to dogs that approach weeds like a gourmet salad bar. A bit of rain and these poisons, along with fertilizers, make their way into our storm drains. By now everyone in New Orleans should know that runoffs to our storm drains travel untreated into our Lake. If the stenciled “DRAINS TO LAKE” markers were overlooked then certainly Katrina was a lesson in how our water (and waste) is removed (or not) from the city.
Take notice of how often painters dispose of paint into nearest street drain. Just washing out paintbrushes into the gutter is an illegal amount of paint contamination. Same goes for the soap, pine oil, bleach, etc. that is daily used to clean our sidewalks. What happens next? Think about it – it goes to the lake, bayous and rivers and every bit of wildlife is threatened with contamination. Do you really want to swim in that shit or eat fish from those waters?
Out of sight out of mind.
An action always has a consequence. What goes up will surely come down, somewhere, sometime. Those helium balloons fastened to the posts outside many of our bars in the Quarter or used for a festive event are often just cut lose to float away. Up, up and away, and so pretty…until they make their way over water, deflate and are consumed by marine life that thinks they are yummy jellyfish. The result is a slow and agonizing death as the balloon and strings strangle the intestines.
The consequences of carelessly flicking your still lit cigarette was illustrated by Smokey the Bear ads years ago – fire! So maybe we aren’t surrounded by flammable forest but have you ever seen a dog’s paw burned by those still red-hot butts? Not pretty.
Nothing really goes away. Your waste, litter, and castoffs merely become someone else’s problem – or come back to bite you in the ass. Go ahead and sweep your trash or leaves into the gutter and clog up the catch basins. And then wonder why your street continues to flood even when the pumps are working.
Litter is not just a superficial blemish on our landscape or some dilettantish cause – it is at best, the gum wrapper dropped by someone unable to give a rat’s ass. But more often it is the seemingly biodegradable chicken bone your dog swallows resulting in internal bleeding or that syringe that pierces your heel. On a larger scale, our rubbish compromises our environment, health and economy. For those rolling eyes out there not so worried about the toxic effects just think money. City and state clean-ups hit taxpayer pocketbooks and tourism certainly suffers when streets, parks, and recreational waters and beaches trashed.
The other day at a bus stop surrounded by a mini landfill of trash (yes there was a trash can right there – empty) I saw a woman picking up several bits of rubbish. A fellow bus rider in-wait commiserated with her but said, “What can ya do, it’s overwhelming?” She replied, “ Just pick it up a piece at a time. That’s how it got here, a piece at a time. Just do it.” And we all did. By her example a clean up was motivated as we waited for our bus.
Spend five minutes a day. Pick up five pieces of trash whenever near a waste bin. Email five city officials and let ‘em know you want more trash bins or more enforcement – demand accountability. Spend less than five dollars a week for recycling (Phoenix.recycling@gmail.com). And take more than five minutes to teach a child how to enjoy and respect their environment and the future will take care of itself.
Also: learn more about an environmental education program for kids at: tree_talk@yahoo.com or contact Sue Brown 504-525-9020.