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New York Post
NY town’s snarky anti-littering campaign asks if ‘mommy still cleans’ for ‘brainless’ residents
By Angela Barbuti,
5 hours ago
They’re getting snarky when it comes to their sanitation.
Officials in Babylon, Long Island are so fed up with litterbugs, they’ve put up signs calling out the “brainless” scofflaws.
“They’re dumping a lot of fast food, 7-Eleven cups, Taco Bell, Wendy’s. It gets as crazy as a freezer that was dumped right at the entrance to the Southern State Parkway,” said Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer, who said sanitation workers picked up a staggering 250 tons of roadside garbage last year.
The snarky sign, which is in 25 different locations, asks Babylon’s 200,000 residents, “Why are you littering?” and then list four possible answers. Town of Babylon
“We’ve had mattresses, tires, and the most bizarre thing is, the town picks all these things up. All you have to do is call. So they’re going out of their way to dump this stuff. It just totally shows that they’re brainless.”
The snippy sign, which is in 25 different locations, asks its 200,000 residents, “Why are you littering?” and then offers four possible answers: “I am lazy. I don’t care about natural areas. Mommy still cleans up after me. All of the above.”
“I had reached my breaking point of watching the filth accumulate … We couldn’t just do a typical ‘please-don’t-litter’ campaign,” said Schaffer, who noted the sign was inspired by one a town councilman spotted in Florida.
On Wednesday, the town took to Facebook to post a video of the sign, and warn that first-time litter offenders could face a fine of up to $1,000.
Schaffer said that some think the initiative — which is funded through the town’s commercial garbage district, not taxpayer money and will cost about $750,000 — is too harsh, but he disagrees.
First-time litter offenders could face a fine of up to $1,000. Town of Babylon
“Living surrounded by people’s filth is way harsher,” he said.
“Politely asking people not to litter is clearly not working. We had to come up with ways to get the conversation going, which included getting in people’s faces.”
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