City Uses Shame to Tackle Litter Problem

City Uses Shame to Tackle Litter Problem

(ReliableNews.org) – If you’ve ever been to New York City, you’ve probably seen the garbage that litters the streets. It seems to be everywhere, and so are animal (and sometimes human) feces. To tackle the disgusting problem, the NYC Department of Sanitation has launched a new campaign.

On April 1, new trash rules took effect in the city. Ten days later, NYC Sanitation announced an ad campaign that was designed for free by VMLY&R to “shame the litters and dog-poopetrators.” One of the photos shows a dog pooping on the ground with the words “Don’t leave __it on the sidewalk.” Another shows a dog standing on two legs, holding a scooper and rake and cleaning up its own feces. The words “Until they can, it’s on you” are written on the photo.

In follow-up tweets, the department showed more photos of humans with a Chinese food container, cigarette butt, and coffee up in the place where their heads should be. Each of the photos in the shame campaign says that if someone litters, they’re “garbage” and encourages residents to call out their neighbors and tell them “where to stick it,” accompanied by a photo of a trash can and a finger pointing at it.

The new rules also outline when exactly businesses and residential buildings are allowed to put their trash cans on the curb for garbage pickup. Residences are allowed to place them on the curb at 6 p.m. the night before pickup if their garbage is in a can and after 8 p.m. if it’s in bags. For businesses, they are allowed to place it in a container with a secure lid one hour before closing the night before pick up or after 8 p.m. for bags.

People who see animal waste on the ground are asked to report it to NYC 311 or here.

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