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Comment by mrunkel | Hacker News Reader

I'm always struck about how many people complain about trash, but seemingly so few actually do anything about it in their neighborhoods.

While preventing littering is a laudable goal, the solution is achievable by all of us. Just pick up a few pieces and ay and throw it away. If everyone who complained about littering did that, the problem would be solved.

Sure, there would still be litterers, but at least the neighborhood would be clean. I'd posit fewer people would litter if there wasn't already trash everywhere.

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This helps to a point, but people only have so much time and can only do so much if the system is systemically broken as it is in Rome, where they are simply not able to process trash even when placed in dumpsters. Plus if the trash contains lots of things like broken glass or sharps, it might be dangerous for untrained citizens to dispose of trash on the street.

America hasn’t really made a dent in domestic poverty even though charitable donations are the highest in the world per capita. At some point you do need an organized government response to problems.

American charitable donations are only so high because church tithing counts.

When's the last time you saw a church organize a street cleaning party, though? (or opening its tax-free building to the homeless?)

> or opening its tax-free building to the homeless?

Here are like a dozen examples off the top of my head.

https://www.journeystheroadhome.org/pads-shelter-program.htm...

In the USA churches provide a substantial portion of the shelter available to the homeless.[0] Church tithing is often charitable, and churches often open their doors to provide community services.

Churches may not regularly organise street cleaning parties, but I don't think that they consider litter to be one of society's great sins either.

[0]: https://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=s...

People do litter, and they aren't many community driven initiatives to clean up, but I don't think litterers are the source of the garbage problem.

Many municipalities in Rome dispose of garbage through large bins placed on the street at the bottom of apartment buildings. Especially during the winter, these bins are not regularly emptied, causing piles of waste around them and litter being carried around by the wind.

The same happens with parks' garbage bins, with the added challenge that you probably can't pick up the park's garbage and bring it to the municipal bins... because they're already overflowing.

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