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| Something that really bugs me about Australia; Well, the Sydney area anyway | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 27 2011, 08:01:14 PM (2,133 Views) | |
| heluvsme | Jul 27 2011, 08:01:14 PM Post #1 |
Chinwagger
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I just can't believe the amount of trash everywhere...I thought it was just a city thing, til we moved out to one of the Western Suburbs and it's the same thing...litter everywhere! Sorry, littering is a serious pet peeve of mine 
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| incognito | Jul 27 2011, 08:06:33 PM Post #2 |
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Chatterbox
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I used to see a LOT of trash where I lived in Canberra too. Mostly fast food stuff, like from Maccas or KFC. Also lots of alcohol cans and bottles. |
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| sheowahya | Jul 27 2011, 09:05:43 PM Post #3 |
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True Blue Mate
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REALLY!? I haven't spent a LOT of time in Melbourne, but the time I HAVE spent there I remember thinking how CLEAN it was!! especially compared to Miami/Ft Lauderdale/NYC. Now I'm even more keen to get up to Sydney for my holidays this year to check it out and see what everyone is talking about. cheers, Marilyn |
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| Kuningan | Jul 27 2011, 10:39:44 PM Post #4 |
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True Blue Mate
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Perth is pretty clean overall but Mr. Kuningan and I agreed on a road trip that Western Australia needs a Ladybird Johnson style campaign. Unbelievable amounts of trash on the roadsides as soon as you get out of Perth proper. There you are in the middle of nowhere 500km up north and the roadsides are absolutely covered in litter. It was really surprising. |
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| pastrycook-136 | Jul 28 2011, 01:28:47 AM Post #5 |
True Blue Mate
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Some parts of Melbourne such as train stations are littered and other parts of the city are cleaner than I remember it being in the US. There does seem to be a lot of grafitti/vandalism/artwork in Melbourne though. I can remember hiking around Dove Lake just below Cradle Mountain in Tasmania in 2005 and not seeing one single speck of litter anywhere, and I was quite amazed by this. It was even more amazing that there were no trash cans at the information hut or in the toilets either and I had to hand carry the bottle I had to throw away/recycle back to my car. |
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| yaussievi | Jul 28 2011, 12:17:13 PM Post #6 |
True Blue Mate
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I see quite a bit of trash here..and cigarette butts.. 
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| AmbroseChick | Jul 28 2011, 02:34:07 PM Post #7 |
True Blue Mate
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We had friends come up from Sydney (life long Aussies who never made it up to QLD before) and they LOVED how clean and graffiti free the Gold Coast is. Littering is also a hugely big issue for me as well... I was walking onto a beach in NSW once and a group of school children was walking out (year 6-7-ish) and one of the kids threw his empty bottle into a bush. I stopped and said "Excuse me young man but you dropped your bottle." He looked at me - his teacher looked at me and he quickly reached his hand into the bush and grabbed out his bottle.  I'm a one person crusader I tell ya! hahaI'm also Native American and back in the 70's there was the ad campaign with the Native man crying. I remember thinking how mean it was that those white people would make my uncle cry because they couldn't stop littering. Edited by AmbroseChick, Jul 28 2011, 02:35:58 PM.
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| Cristin | Jul 28 2011, 11:34:29 PM Post #8 |
True Blue Mate
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I've noticed a weird amount of furniture trash in a lot of residential areas in Sydney - just piles and piles of old/broken/worn out furniture everywhere. I have a now-standard rant that I give to my poor husband almost daily whenever I see more piles of junky furniture ... "how do people here have so much furniture to throw away?!? When was the last time you threw a piece of furniture away? Let alone piles of furniture? Doesn't anyone try to recycle this stuff? ..." and so on until I've gone hoarse or my husband has completely zoned me out ... Since we've moved to Neutral Bay, I've also noticed discarded shopping trolleys all over the place. Coles must be spending a fortune to replace them. |
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| CynicalCountess | Jul 28 2011, 11:54:48 PM Post #9 |
True Blue Mate
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Indy: He was Italian, but yeah. My area of Sydney is pretty clean, but there's one house on the walk to my place from the train station that has a lot of crap outside against the house. Including broken beer bottles. |
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| NurseJules | Jul 28 2011, 11:59:38 PM Post #10 |
True Blue Mate
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I have to say I find Melbourne incredibly clean, but I also thing the ridiculous council rates are going somewhere because we have the street sweeper (being in Melbourne City Council territory) twice a week and we live across the road from a massive park which has gardners and general groundskeepers working every day. That being said though.... We also have junior footy and cricket on depending on what season every weekend. We also have adult soccer games played on the artificial turf pitch. No joke, every Monday morning when I walk the dog the grounds are disgustingly littered with rubbish...I'm actually getting ready to document it with my camera and write a letter to the Melbourne City Council because although the groundskeepers make it spotless by Monday afternoon, these organizations should be picking up after themselves! So much in fact a few Sundays ago I was out on a late afternoon run around the park and I noticed a group of adult men were leaving the soccer pitch after their game...no joke there was a PILE of trash just sitting there as they walked away. I actually stopped and the conversation went a little like this: Me: "Hi! Did you guys just finish your soccer game??" Player: "Yea!: Me: "Oh great! Now who the heck is picking up all of that rubbish?" players look at eachother, dumbfounded for a sec... Player: "Oh...ummm...well (pointing at the clubhouse) they will pick it up later!" Me: "Oh so you guys don't clean up after yourselves?" I then continue to run around the oval....I noticed as I came around the other side, every one of those adult men were picking up the rubbish and putting it into the bin that couldn't have been more than a meter away from them.... So maybe the trash issue is a generational thing? I'm not really sure....But I actually find Melbourne impecibly clean within the Melbourne City precinct...but I also pay dearly for it through council rates and I now know why! |
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| Jennie | Jul 29 2011, 11:04:07 AM Post #11 |
Chinwagger
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Adelaide seems pretty clean.
Edited by Jennie, Jul 29 2011, 05:19:27 PM.
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| incognito | Jul 29 2011, 02:02:30 PM Post #12 |
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Chatterbox
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Good on ya for speaking up!!!! There is definitely an attitude that "somebody else" will pick things up. It drives us nuts. My husband cannot believe the amount of crap that is on the trains in Melbourne too - well, specifically the evil Frankston line. It's not hard to pick up after yourself! |
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| AmbroseChick | Jul 29 2011, 02:07:02 PM Post #13 |
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True Blue Mate
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And I was about 6 at the time so yeah... I know he wasn't Indian NOW that I'm OLD! Edited by AmbroseChick, Jul 29 2011, 02:08:18 PM.
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| incognito | Jul 29 2011, 05:16:34 PM Post #14 |
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Chatterbox
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He was?!? I was quite young when this commercial was on, but I totally remember it! |
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| Riley | Jul 30 2011, 01:03:15 AM Post #15 |
Yacker
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I live in the CBD there is no rubbish around, Sydney city council keeps my street spotless. They do have council collection days every three months that you can legally put things out like old funiture etc on the side walk for the council to collect. They send you a notice in the mail when there doing it. Also you can call or email your local council or MP and report it, they will send out cleaners, also monitor and find out whos dumping it. |
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| Garrett | Jul 30 2011, 05:25:52 PM Post #16 |
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Anklebiter
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I consider Sydney (including the CBD) to be about average in terms of filth. I wouldn't call the city spotless but I wouldn't call the trash an issue, either. (Although I do find the stray shopping carts a bit of an oddity.  ) In comparison to Washington D.C. the city's pretty darn grimy, especially when it comes to cigarette butts, but when compared to NYC I'd consider it very clean indeed.
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| bubbles | Jul 30 2011, 10:59:32 PM Post #17 |
True Blue Mate
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Speaking of trash.... I know that wages are higher here, but do you pick up your tray/trash after eating in a food court or leave it for the staff? I have always and will always throw it away myself, but my Australian partner seems to think its okay to leave it for the staff to clean up because "thats what they get paid for". It seems like a lot of people just leave it on the table which bugs me because, its your trash throw it away, and if its busy and the staff dont clean it up quickly there are no clean tables to sit at. I have actually thrown away the trash left at the table by the people before us just so we had somewhere to sit. |
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| Bindie | Jul 30 2011, 11:24:30 PM Post #18 |
True Blue Mate
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Yes I do the same thing. I never leave it because they may get paid, but I think they do not get paid ENOUGH to clean up after other people who could walk a few steps and put it in the bin. |
 The future is no place/to place your better days, DMB Canberra, ACT since 2004 | |
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| TerritorianTori | Jul 31 2011, 01:10:17 AM Post #19 |
It couldn't happen here
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Absolutely. The only time I expect staff to clean up my table is at a sit-down restaurant; otherwise, you clean up after yourself. Besides, as Bindie pointed out, the bin is usually RIGHTTHERE. It's not a hundred miles away. It's not a dodgy fangled receptacle that ducks and weaves when you try to put something in it. Sheeesh. And yes, I've also cleaned up after other people just so I could have a place to sit. Sorry... I worked in a fast-food establishment for many years and this is one of my biggest gripes. |
 South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys I don't do Facebook, sorry. | |
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| SanDiablo | Jul 31 2011, 08:27:01 AM Post #20 |
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True Blue Mate
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Then you are familiar with the massive rat colonies that run boldly through the streets and alleys? |
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