How about helping polluters reduce pollution this way?
I pick up a lot of litter these days.
The stuff I pick up, I usually carry to a trash can and put it in. Some of the main producers I see are McDonald’s, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, pizza shops, other cafes, and other doof stores.
When we know the source of the garbage, what do you think about putting the waste back into the place it came from? For example, if I see a Dunkin Donuts plastic cup on the ground by a Dunkin Donuts, what do you think about opening the door to the place and putting the cup on the floor inside the door, or maybe on a table?
They profited from selling something they knew would cause waste and that we taxpayers would have to pay to clean. Giving the waste back to them moves the public cost to the private entity that profited from it. It seems like effective accounting. Starbucks used to use mugs. They can go back to them.
What if the practice become common? What if it went nationwide? All the used soda bottles could go back to the stores that profited from selling them. Maybe they’d stop selling so much doof. Why should the public deal with all the candy wrappers and Gatorade bottles? If the stuff is going to attract rats and roaches, why not at the place that created the waste that attracts the vermin?
Is there a law against returning something to its source? There are laws about littering, which they seem to abet.
I suspect many franchisees, delis, and grocery stores work on small margins. Still, they profit from socializing costs. If charging less means polluting everyone else’s world, maybe charging less is stealing from us taxpayers. I’m not operating on high margins either. Why should they steal from me to clean their messes?
I can’t be the first person to think about this idea. Have others done it?
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