With visions of music festivals dancing in his head the Mayor of Toronto twerked his way to the hot sun of Austin, Texas on a civic mission. He had one great reason for going that he likely missed even though it was right under his perspiring nose.
I’m talking about the Austin music festival’s attention to making people not cause litter.
Founded in 1985, the iconic Don’t Mess With Texas anti-litter campaign is a culture within the State. Images of the Mayor at the Austin festival site illustrated what that kind of cultural shift looks like. The fairgrounds are immaculate. Bins are prominent red, white and blue, branded with eye-catching slogans, good signage and a palpable stigma about littering. Litter reduction needs all these elements.
In many jurisdictions the litter-free festival has become part of the planning mandate. Compare that to Toronto where the litter aftermath from any big event is typically profuse and disgusting.
I appreciate that the mayor’s dream of a Toronto music festival may have been manufactured with the aid of a few pen scratches on a napkin. Now, if only we could get him in on a plan that focuses on not littering that napkin.
I’m talking about the Austin music festival’s attention to making people not cause litter.
Founded in 1985, the iconic Don’t Mess With Texas anti-litter campaign is a culture within the State. Images of the Mayor at the Austin festival site illustrated what that kind of cultural shift looks like. The fairgrounds are immaculate. Bins are prominent red, white and blue, branded with eye-catching slogans, good signage and a palpable stigma about littering. Litter reduction needs all these elements.
In many jurisdictions the litter-free festival has become part of the planning mandate. Compare that to Toronto where the litter aftermath from any big event is typically profuse and disgusting.
I appreciate that the mayor’s dream of a Toronto music festival may have been manufactured with the aid of a few pen scratches on a napkin. Now, if only we could get him in on a plan that focuses on not littering that napkin.
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