East Van Garbage Watch: Just your average filthy bus stop

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      East Vancouver smells like shit.

      Between West Coast Reduction's rendering plant on North Commercial, the vomit and urine streaking the sidewalks and alleyways after special events, and the epic piles of garbage, it's hard to argue that the east side of town smells like anything other than rancid death.

      To wit, I present East Van Garbage Watch (patent pending): a semi-regular series of photos of disgustingness.

      Today's entry: Oh, it's just your average filthy bus stop.

      Martin Dunphy

      While I tend to focus on overflowing garbage cans, rancid Dumpsters, and whether alleyways or medians are better spots for your abandoned couches, I feel like today's entry is much more emblematic of Vancouver's garbage problem: namely, random shit strewn on the sidewalks.

      Senior editor Martin Dunphy passed along these photos he took of the bus stop on the southwest corner of East Hastings and Nanaimo streets, a prime example of this kind of mess.

      Martin Dunphy
      Weirdly, it's pretty much all fast-food garbage, aka a delicious snack for local crows and raccoons.
      Martin Dunphy

      My favourite aspect of this trashy tableau? There is a garbage can not six feet from this mess.

      Martin Dunphy
      Martin Dunphy

      Who else loves living in a city where people can't be bothered to walk 10 steps to properly dispose of their crap?

      Previously on East Van Garbage Watch: Enough with dumping furniture in alleys already!

      Have a Vancouver garbage photo you want to share? East Van Garbage Watch welcomes trash photos from anywhere in the City of Vancouver. Send photos via Twitter to @charenton_ or email webeditor@straight.com with the photo's location, date it was taken, and any other observations you may have.

      Comments

      9 Comments

      It's Not Just East Van

      Jun 5, 2015 at 9:27am

      The City of Vancouver appears to have given up on dealing with general tidiness issues. Trash is everywhere, and planting areas are full of weeds. Requests for attention result in suggestions from City Council that "residents need to do their part to clean up the city." Yes, people should dispose of trash properly, but the City of Vancouver needs to re-establish some resources around keeping the city clean and presentable.

      saoirse

      Jun 5, 2015 at 10:17am

      Not just E. Van. I think that the City needs to increase pick ups. The picture which accompanies the article is Hastings and Nanaimo, which is now a "hipster" hood with all it's attendant fast food outlets and coffee bars. When the City allows these businesses to invade the hood (good or bad) then step up the clean up.

      realist

      Jun 5, 2015 at 10:51am

      But you'll be glad to know that the city has plenty of money to send the mayor and his minions around the globe to pointless climate conferences...

      tedo

      Jun 5, 2015 at 11:13am

      vancouver is the filthiest place in North America

      vancouverites are the most lazy dirty people in North America

      vancouver city workers will tell how disgusting the people of vancouver are.......the workers will clean the streets and 2 hours later its back to as filthy as before

      Ugggh

      Jun 5, 2015 at 11:13am

      There are so many positive things to write about on this sunny day. Why do we need to look at this?

      SallyW

      Jun 5, 2015 at 11:51am

      #1 Stop Littering.
      #2 Be the change you want to see. Report messes to The City so they can clean them up to avoid them getting worse with time & additions.

      Dial 311 from any phone, or use the new App on your cellphone to take a picture and report it instantly: http://vancouver.ca/vanconnect.aspx

      7-11

      Jun 5, 2015 at 11:51am

      Looks like a nearby 7-11 put their bag of garbage there and it got torn open.

      Sgt Transom

      Jun 5, 2015 at 12:24pm

      Walk down Granville St. downtown on a weekend if you want to see a place that has been completely trashed. Garbage and cigarette butts are everywhere and all from the drunken morons spilling out of the clubs at night. The store owners have given up on keeping their sidewalks clean and the city isn't interested in spending money on regular cleaning.

      Also, don't forget that crows are responsible for a lot of litter from fast food places as they have no trouble pulling it out of the (overflowing) street garbage cans and ripping everything open. A bit off wind usually blows everything around and it accumulates in bus shelters.

      Martin Dunphy

      Jun 5, 2015 at 12:43pm

      Sgt:

      I hear you, but that wasn't crows and a bit of wind.

      7-11:
      The nearest 7-11 is five blocks away. Do you really think they sneaked over to a bus shelter that far away when they have giant Dumpsters out back? Please. Why do people have so much trouble believing people can be pigs?