This appeared in the July 2008 issue of Raw Zine, a monthly put out by Ann Arbor's punk community.  You can get copies by sending a S.A.S.E.  to Raw Haüs, Box 8223, Ann Arbor, 48107.  I can't resist posting an observation this astute, and I would only add that this also shows that the city doesn't expect the average citizens to notice these things.

Anyway, here's the scoop on the new trash bins:

The new green trash and recycling boxes are deceptively nice-looking and seem to promote the sorting of materials in a small effort to save the planet from consumerist destruction.  I think they're kind of big and take up too much sidewalk space.  Pedestrian space is filling with clutter.

In reality, however, the significance of the green boxes is far more nefarious.  Subtle design elements are employed to guide social policy and enact political goals.

FOR EXAMPLE:

1) Park benches have been replaced with individual seating separated by armrests, not because weary travelers need to prop their elbows, but rather to prevent people sleeping on them.

2) Railings have been installed that feature ridges every couple feet.  These are not to help your grip but rather to discourage skateboarders from grinding them.

3) The cement trashcans are covered with pebbles not to resemble ancient seabeds but rather to make it difficult to apply flyers, stencils, or graffiti.

SIMILARLY,

4) The new green metal recycling and trash boxes are not intended to beautify the city or sort recyclables.  The holes are impossible to see or reach through and the boxes are kept locked IN ORDER TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM RUMMAGING THROUGH THE GARBAGE AND COLLECTING EMPTIES.

Out City has embarked on an agenda to clean up and control the activities that can be conducted publicly.  There shall be no public sleeping skateboarding, or trash picking.  Even flyering has been limited to lamp posts and utility poles, and only within two weeks of the advertised event.

Homeless people (and others) will not find income from empties they cannot reach in the new green boxes.  Nor will we find interesting things in the trash to share with our friends.

[Just today, as we were walking down the street, a friend found a nice pair of shoes in the trash and gave them to another friend --A2planet]

BUT pushing activities out of the public venue does not make them go away.  It simply relocates them to designated places.  Shelters are for sleeping; support is to be found from charities not empties; etc.  Is it right to sterilize our streets and social spaces in this way?  Who decides which aspects of human life shall be made invisible to society?