I recently returned home to the US from an extensive tour through Canada. We Americans should collectively hang our heads in shame. Compared to Canada, the US is littered and just plain filthy. Why is that? Are Americans inherently less clean than Canadians?
Sebastian
Favorite Answer
The USA pollutes many of its lakes due to the oil consumption, that is going on everywhere in the country if im right. In Canada though its only going on in Alberta where obtaining Tar sands is also deforesting the forest life of Canada.
Kessie
I don't know. But it's definitely not the latter. There are clean and dirty cities in the US; same for Canada.
Maybe it's the mentality? Maybe people have gotten so used to the occasional trash on the street you just get used to it?
Whenever I pass by something like an empty Starbucks cup on the street, I get that sense of anger and annoyance - how hard is it to throw it away in the trash bin two feet away? - and then I pick it up and put it in the trash.
Two days ago, I was watching the fireworks and while I was walking back, there was so much trash and newspapers littered on the beach, I was fuming inside and I didn't keep quiet either. I was grumbling the entire way home.
It's one of my pet peeves. It's probably just me.
Anyway, it probably also has something to do with the population. It can be tough to keep a city clean with a million people living there.
nyninchdick
10 times the population, many states have no mandatory deposit on drink contains, and in some places a culture of disposable everything. Just check out an LA freeway.
J.J.'s Advice / Avis de J.J.
I guess it's a combination of Canada having a much lower population density, more of a mentality to not litter, and more public funds available to spend on cleaning.
Jim B
The trash problem in the USA is down to ......... What can we do when we only have a limited amount of money, to run an entire city ? What should we spend the limited dollars on ? Obviously, picking up trash from the streets is way down the list, compared to providing basic city services like fire, police, EMS, and clean water to drink, and operating the schools and hospitals.
In Canada, we are still able to do the "little things " like cutting the grass in the city parks, operating the libraries, swimming pools and parks and rec programs, and yes, picking up the trash. How do we do it ? Balanced budgets and fair taxation on property owners and business owners.
I see that the City of Detroit is now officially bankrupt. That is not something that happens over night, it took years of neglect to get to that point. I can honestly say that I don't think that a Canadian city will ever get to that situation financially.
Jim B
Toronto.