Analysis Paralysis

I've been doing my own personal study of human nature lately by analyzing the trash I find along the streets when I am out in the morning for my daily constitutional. I know I have commented on the type of people who leave their litter for others to pick up for them before. But, I decided to take the study further.

The other day I didn't pick up a single piece of trash, just to see how long it would remain there before someone else picked it up.  I was pleasantly surprised that when I went by the same route three days later the Coke and Bud cans were gone. It is reassuring to know that someone else is into keeping trash off our streets, be it because they cash in the cans or what.  I don't care what the motive is, just that someone else doesn't think twice about bending over and picking up the cans.

However, I also noticed that plastic bottles that had been laying along the side of the street were often still there.  That could be for two different reasons.  One is that they usually are in pretty deplorable condition by that time and not pleasant to handle.  The other may be because we still do not have a plastics recycling operation going in town yet.  Soon, but not yet.

The last item I have been surveying is the empty Marlboro packages.  That is the predominant brand that I find.  So I let them lay there, too, for a few days after I resumed picking up the cans and plastic again. I noticed that they will remain on the street until I personally pick them up, usually. That says something, not only about the caliber of the person littering, but the motive of the picker upper of the litter.

 Personally, I don't care what it is.  I do have to think a bit about where the nearest trash can is for the trash and how far I will need to carry the recyclables before I can put them in the right bag where they belong back at home. Sometimes my route is planned so that I can be sure to pick it up on the way home. And sometimes I have to make the decision about whether to trash it if my hands get to full for the rest of the trip.

Okay, so some of my daily decisions seem pretty trite to most and the thoughts I muddle with would never enter most people's mind.  But, that's okay with me.  You all just pose an interesting challenge for me to conquer.