This is not a denouncement of solar power.
I am not trashing the idea keeping the streets and sidewalks clean (pun kind of intented).
One thing I am against though, is germs and other people’s trash. The new trash cans on Philly streets put my hands in direct contact with both of those things.
Click MORE to read about the problem with the trash cans, and see photographic evidence.
Toward the end of last summer, the normal trash cans on our city streets were replaced by solar powered trash cans. They use solar power to compact the trash, making fewer trash pickups necessary, thereby saving money and causing less congestion on city streets. I’m all for both.
The problem, you ask? Well, we have to touch them. The trash cans, as you can see in the pictures, can only be accessed by opening them with your hands.
I don’t want to touch trash cans IN MY OWN HOUSE, much less on the street. Something tells me, if you can invent a solar powered trash compactor, someone can come up with a pedal that can allow us to open the trash cans without touching them.
Don’t think it’s a big deal? Next time you’re walking down the street, pay special attention to people. Picking their noses, scratching their rear ends, probably going to the bathroom and not washing their hands. G-R-O-S-S.
Pass this blog along. Comment and show your support. Together, we can avoid other people’s germs.
The 700 Level
danya
May 18, 2010 9:28 am
Yes, yes, yes! I have a special move where I grab the handle with the edge of my dog pick-up back, open the drawer, and flip the whole thing in without touching. But FOOT PEDALS seem like a relatively simple solution. I suggested them a few times last May, when these were first introduced (http://www.phillydesignblog.com/2009/05/big-belly/). Let’s get them in the next gen design, at least.
Spike
May 18, 2010 9:42 am
It’s either foot pedal, or give everyone 10 boxes of rubber gloves!
ryan
May 18, 2010 12:35 pm
yeah those things are nasty….I dont even want to think about what people do before touching those things…im sure the bums hate these things
Spike
May 18, 2010 12:43 pm
Hahaha, I hadn’t even considered the feelings of the bums.
EarthToPhilly
May 18, 2010 12:45 pm
We were later to the party than danya, but also weighed in against having to open the cans with handles… http://bit.ly/bGvWVo …so where do we pick up our pitchforks and torches, spike?
Spike
May 18, 2010 12:57 pm
Hahaha, I’m not sure. I mean, we’ve got to do something right? I’m finding out I’m not the only one. I will do my work and figure out what we do. Gimme a day or two!