Littering in Minneapolis (price, groceries, shop)

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by The Old Scowl

Funny thing about cigarette butts: you can follow a smoker's habit with them. When I do a neighborhood street pickup, I can see where a smoker is pacing along their yard boundaries and dumping their butts. This is if you do a daily pickup along the same route, and if the cigarette smoked is something distinct (i.e., a Marlboro). I also think that cigarette butts can migrate long distances when on the sides of highways.
There are some other odd trends I have seen in the past 6-8 weeks of pickups. Someone dumping their water bottle spittoons at a particular bend in the road, and another person dumping used diapers (one at a time though, not in a bunch) in front of the neighborhood park at the same spot.

Our company's property line sits across from a driveway for one of the long-haul transit companies in the North Metro. We will occasionally find gallon jugs full of what looks like urine evidently tossed out the window as they turn into their lot. Hey thanks buddy, we'll be glad to pick that up for you.

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by xandrex

Err...I see butts in lots of other cities.

And wouldn't "migrants from other cities" not litter if other cities are free of butts?

Guess you visit the dirty ones. The second question is unintelligible to me.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Guess you visit the dirty ones. The second question is unintelligible to me.

I visit all sorts of cities, plenty of which I'd consider to be fairly clean, but still have cigarette butts.

The second question was in reference to you mentioning that you think part of the reason we have littering of cigarette butts here is that "migrants" are carelessly throwing them on the ground. Presumably those "migrants" come from somewhere else. But you said other cities don't seem to have an issue of throwing butts on the ground. So are these "migrants" picking up a bad habit when they move here to Minneapolis that they didn't have before in their previous city? Or is this just an argument that "we were better off before people started moving here"?

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by xandrex

I visit all sorts of cities, plenty of which I'd consider to be fairly clean, but still have cigarette butts.

The second question was in reference to you mentioning that you think part of the reason we have littering of cigarette butts here is that "migrants" are carelessly throwing them on the ground. Presumably those "migrants" come from somewhere else. But you said other cities don't seem to have an issue of throwing butts on the ground. So are these "migrants" picking up a bad habit when they move here to Minneapolis that they didn't have before in their previous city? Or is this just an argument that "we were better off before people started moving here"?

By definition migrants come from somewhere else. And that somewhere else probably cared or didn't care about public littering. It takes a bit of time for anyone to get a picture of "the usual" in a new place. Some fit in nowhere. But a lot of people try to blend in with a new place of residence. One thing I noticed some time ago was a LOT of toilets used and not flushed. Like either the person didn't realize some action to flush was required. Or maybe they were experiencing indoor plumbing for the first t ime. And bathroom stalls with toilet paper all over the place. It varies according to where you are in the metro. The bathroomm in Roseville's Byerlys is totally different from those in South Minneapolis stores where everything is broken, and stuff is strewn all around. Obviously different clientele.

Another difference related to litter is whether a business cares what the sidewalk in front of the store looks like. I've seen people cleaning up in front of some stores. Other stores seem to pretend they don't see what is in front.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

It varies according to where you are in the metro. The bathroomm in Roseville's Byerlys is totally different from those in South Minneapolis stores where everything is broken, and stuff is strewn all around. Obviously different clientele.

I feel like no matter where you go in the metro, the Lunds/Byerlys crowd is always a little bourgeois.

[Beenhere4ever]

Hey, they charge more (though not as much as people think), but they are way past other chains in quality and service. Too bad if quality and service are "bourgeois". American standards have slid a lot since the days when EVERY chain felt it was necessary to make people feel like their business is wanted.

[xandrex]

Hasn't Byerlys always offered higher-quality service though? I'm too young to have been around when they first opened, but I remember someone (my father, perhaps) telling me that people oohed and aahed that they had carpet in the store because it was so new and different.

[Beenhere4ever]

Not sure about that. But it is the last store chain with customer service help that tote your purchases to your car. Used to be real common in groceries, but discounting has wiped out most amenities like this. Cub is probably the store most responsible for lost amenities in local grocery retailing. Now Aldi has one-upped Cub, both by lower prices and by not offering free carts and baskets. And with much faster cashier service.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Not sure about that. But it is the last store chain with customer service help that tote your purchases to your car. Used to be real common in groceries, but discounting has wiped out most amenities like this. Cub is probably the store most responsible for lost amenities in local grocery retailing. Now Aldi has one-upped Cub, both by lower prices and by not offering free carts and baskets. And with much faster cashier service.

I haven't been to a Lunds/Byerlys that hauls out your groceries. I do shop at Lunds frequently as they are within a few blocks of where I live and they have an excellent produce selection (and I agree with an earlier point you made: it's pricey, but if you don't buy too many packaged goods, it's actually fairly reasonable and higher quality), but the store I'm near is the NE Minneapolis location. They are aimed much more at convenience in/out with the fact that it's a small, urban location.

I was unaware Aldi didn't offer free carts or baskets (I've never shopped at an Aldi's). What are they charging!?

[northsub]

Originally Posted by xandrex

I haven't been to a Lunds/Byerlys that hauls out your groceries. I do shop at Lunds frequently as they are within a few blocks of where I live and they have an excellent produce selection (and I agree with an earlier point you made: it's pricey, but if you don't buy too many packaged goods, it's actually fairly reasonable and higher quality), but the store I'm near is the NE Minneapolis location. They are aimed much more at convenience in/out with the fact that it's a small, urban location.

I was unaware Aldi didn't offer free carts or baskets (I've never shopped at an Aldi's). What are they charging!?

I've never seen an Aldi that charges for carts. They have a system where the carts are locked up. You put in a quarter to release a cart. When you return the cart you get your quarter back.