- Dr. Robin Nagle, anthropologist-in-residence for the New York City Department of Sanitation, “Answers from a Garbologist” July 14, 2010, The New York Times

Dr. Nagle’s quote is from this Q&A at the above link.

“While walking along the Hudson River in Riverside Park near the West 150s this weekend, I was dismayed to see large amounts of litter strewn about. My first thought was how nice it would be to get a group of friends together to pick up all the trash left behind, but I thought that perhaps this could send some wrong signals, as picnickers who see that volunteers are picking up garbage could assume that they are at liberty to litter, since someone’s going to pick it up anyway.

Do you have any thoughts or experience on whether people who are inclined to litter tend to do so more freely if they know volunteers or park employees will pick up after them?

— Posted by D. Hughes

Organizing a group of friends for a trash pick-up campaign is an excellent idea. Here are some suggestions that might be helpful:

Focus on a specific stretch of the park. Show up often enough for park users to see you there a lot. If you live in the area, make that clear so that you’re not seen as an outsider. At least some of your crew should speak Spanish well. All of you should be ready and eager to explain that you’re stepping in as caring citizens, not as consultants or paid employees of any entity. And also be ready and eager to invite park users around you to join in your efforts.

Be patient, because it takes a while for habits to change, but often when users of a stressed space see someone taking real care of it, they actually begin to change their own behavior so that they become part of the improvement. It could even become an example of what sociologist Mitch Duneier, in his brilliant book “Sidewalk,” describes as “fixed windows” theory (in contrast to “broken windows” theory). A few people making small positive changes in an urban geography can encourage more people to create more small positive changes, which leads to a community altering its fortunes for the better, one step at a time.

This whole scenario may be impossibly optimistic – but you won’t know if you don’t try. It’s a wonderful opportunity to do a little guerrilla urban maintenance off the grid of city bureaucracy and with potentially startling results. If you do take this on, I’m very curious to learn what happens!”

This is a good example for #27: Start company change with someone who feels responsible.