RSS FeedPlanter Box Pet Peeves
Can You Identify The Juicy Fruit, Big Red and Hubba Bubba?
When walking through PQ, you can look down at any planter (tree) box and you’re certain to see one of two things: gum or cigarette butts. If you took a random sample of any four boxes you could add animal feces and beer/liquor bottles. We’ve talked about dogs using the boxes before, no problem there so long as you always clean up after your dog (there is no excuse for not picking up after your dog/having plenty of plastic bags on hand). And we’re not likely to solve the beer/liquor bottle problem anytime soon. That leaves the gum and the cigarettes.
We’ll start with cigarettes: Why would anyone think it was ok to throw a smoldering flame into a box full of dried twigs? Many of the buildings downtown offer smokers’ poles for cigarette disposal, and most of the metal garbage cans have lips that can be used to extinguish (and then dispose of) the butts. And yet somehow the gum bothers us more; maybe it’s because we know several smokers but don’t know any adults who chew gum except those (1) trying to quit smoking, or (2) on a flight.
Obviously lots of people like gum, and in moderation there is nothing wrong with that. But there is something wrong with spitting your gum out on into these boxes or on the sidewalk. We really like the banana pudding from Capital Q, but we don’t spit it out onto the sidewalk when we’re through with it. Doesn’t it seem strange that there is an entire industry and product lines designed around cleaning up gum from sidewalks?
Soon the spring planting will start and the boxes will all be full of grasses and flowers. But you can be sure it won’t take long before the gum, cigarette butts, feces and bottles are in full bloom once again.
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Comments
i think…that if you did a comparative study…you would find that the majority of the boxes are in far better shape than a few years ago when they frequently contained condoms and people poo…
i like to think they are getting better every year and concentrate on the positive..
xoxo
ugh, nothing nastier than cleaning the condoms. but you are right, the quantity has definitely gone way down in the past 5 yrs.
can I add something to this that bothers the hell outta me? the pools of hocked loogie spit on the sidewalks in chinatown drive me nuts. its like a minefield, especially around the subway at 7th & H. great big gleaming pools of nasty expelled oral juices right smack in the middle of the foot traffic. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen old people, young people, really old people …just bend over & let loose a stream of funk like they have been chewing tobacco all day long. Gawd! at least do it off to the side where no one will step in it! Always keep your eyes on the ground.
I will take gum 100 times over compared to the Velicoff Vodka bottles that we get to clean up just north of here.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Thank you for drawing attention to this issue. Gum, cigs, and spitting are huge peeves of mine. I actually yelled at a woman going into Disney on Ice with her children/grandchildren a few weeks ago and tossed her still lit cigarette onto the ground. I asked her if she was planning on teaching her children to litter and start forest fires. She was pissed! We all need to do this. The spitting thing is actually a public health issue. Correct me if I am wrong, but they initiated anti-spitting laws to help curb TB in the past. In a city like DC with such a high HIV rate, you would think an anti-loogie campaign might be necessary.
Thank you, LizK. I was furious when I read the previous post. Spitting in public is disgusting and uncivilized. It is not a disease transmission system.
Sadly, we live in a world of entitlement and privilege — where people feel is completely appropriate to discard small waste (cigs, gum, name tags) onto the streets, while not considering them as litter. Manners and chivalry are not dead — and need to be part of the educational system again. A small change in persona; behavior — and acceptance of personal responsibility goes a long way in shaping other behaviors and actions. Perhaps this new wave of accepting personal responsibility spearheaded by POTUS will help to to get this movement kick started and on track.
Sadly, as a downtown resident, all we can do is pitch in and hep to clean the areas we cherish — and ask our leaders and local agencies to step up and maintain these areas better. Our building is looking to landscape a small area next to us. Installation is not the problem — maintenance is — but if we do this, we will be committed to keeping the plot in good shape and clean of debris.
I hate gum in the street and planter boxes. I try to avoid it when walking my dog, it’s such a nuisance. No gum spitting please!
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You could get rid of gum overnight with a snack tax, but what’s the likelihood of that every happening? And even if you outlawed chewing gum, the snack industry would replace it with something equally revolting like Wrigleys Brand Cud for those contemplative, bovine moments when only the finest cud will do.