Trash problems

What's the deal with putting out trash in my borderline neighborhood on Monday morning? Take a load of these examples that I've had to deal with since moving here five years ago:

• I've had lots of problems with bottle pickers scattering non-refundables across my lawn and on the street, or dumping them into the regular trash or yard waste. Message to the people that do this: we are doing you a favor by leaving this stuff out, so don't make a mess for us to clean up.



• Someone stole a new trash barrel and lid once



• And this morning, someone dumped the remnants of an outdoor picnic right next to my trash. He or she could have put it in the half-full trash barrel that was right there, but no, blue plastic plates smeared with salad dressing, the remnants of a watermelong, and assorted other niceties were dumped right on the curb, for me to pick up by hand.

The first item has been frustrating enough for me to stop putting out my recycle bin until I go to work on Monday morning, but the second and third item require harsher thinking. A home-made video surveillance system? Perhaps. Some guy in the South End set one up to record the crime taking place on the street outside his home, and caught some very interesting footage.