Free Newspapers Saved From Becoming Litter
By Linda Longo
"I thought to take the photo after I picked up the papers, but notice the green NYC recycling box in the background."
On many New York City street corners you’ll see those free newspaper boxes. There’s one on my block in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Every so often I’ll notice our box is tipped over and the wind has scattered the free papers and everyone walks past oblivious. I’ve done it too. I’ll walk past thinking “well, I should pick it all up because a garbage can is right there”, then I’m two blocks past and figure someone else will do the good deed. This Sunday on my way to the local farmer’s market on 5th avenue and 4th street I saw that the wind was really enjoying the free papers. The entire box was tipped over and the flimsy lid was open. I placed my grocery cart off to the side and began to pick up the heaps of newspapers. I quickly noticed the papers were not badly damaged so I righted the tipped over box and proceeded to place the papers back inside. The few that were muddy I conveniently placed in the green NYC newspaper recycling box just feet away. No one pointed and laughed at me like I secretly imagined they would. People kept to their business, but I hope they noticed me because maybe the next time they see spilled free papers they’ll do the same.
I don’t go around picking up trash on a regular basis because I don’t want to get dirty, but that’s my hang up. We need to understand that trash makes it way to the streets and into the sewer openings where it clogs our drainage system. And when as little as 2” of rain happens our NYC sewers can get overwhelmed and sometimes this trash ends up in our waterways. So if we all take a little effort to think about putting our gum wrappers in our pockets till we pass a trash can, or picking up the spilled newspapers, we’ll all contribute just a little to the welfare of our city. And by the way, on the way home from the market I saw a lady open the free newspaper box and take one. That made my day.
About the author: Linda started her career with EPA in 1998 working in the water quality program. For the past 7 years she’s helped regulated facilities understand how to be in compliance with EPA enforcement requirements. Outside of work Linda enjoys exploring neighborhoods of NYC, photographing people in their everyday world, and sewing handbags made from recycled materials that she gives to her friends.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.