"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." ~ John Muir

19 November 2007

November 19, 2007

Part of the charm (cough cough) of living in an Historic District is that neighbors are constantly renovating their homes. This results in an interesting diversity in style and decor and is part of the reason that each Spring our doors open for the annual Home Tour. It can also result, however, in noisy Sunday mornings (nothing like the incessant buzz of a skill saw while I'm enjoying my coffee on the back porch), and the surreptitious disposal of construction debris in the can intended for household refuse (one large can for each four households - located in the alley).

This charming place has been the one of the most recent recipients of a bit of a face lift. Nice, eh? And I'm sure it is. What isn't so nice is that the construction crew loaded up all the garbage cans in the alley with their crap, rather than carting if off to the landfill like they are supposed to do. That means no room for any one else's refuse.


Here is our garbage can. Yup, that's PVC electrical conduit and large pieces of wood. Steve and I knocked on this guys door and asked if he knew that his contractor had - illegally, I might add - filled several cans with the debris from his house. His response was that the guy was "supposed" to cart it away on a flatbed truck. Hey, Surprise! He didn't! Well, Renovation Guy said he do something about it which - Surprise! - he didn't.


Here the garbage collector arrives and has to get out of his truck and physically remove all the shit sticking up out of the top of the can.

And there it is - and yes, it's still there. So, what would YOU do? I must admit that my first impulse is to throw it over the guy's fence, but that could result in some unpleasant sort of feud, so it's not a very good option. Maybe just haul it down behind HIS gate? I don't know. Eventually, the bulk trash collection folks will come through and probably pick it up then. It's just amazing to me, though, how thoughtless that is and how some people really just don't seem to give a shit.

Lord knows, I'm not perfect, and I've put plenty of landscaping debris of my own in the trash can, but this is professional construction - these guys are obligated to haul their waste away. We have to pay for our waste collection services and this sort of thing cheats us all. Stepping down from the soapbox now...