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Monday, April 12, 2010

Yes, When It Comes To The Environment, I'm A Bitch!

It's been an eye opener linking up with Erin of The Mother Load in an effort to convince as many of you as possible to "Go Green For Spring". Doing that post and the research that went along with it have drastically changed my own perspective when viewing the environment.

Like everyone else, I shop on a regular basis for food, clothing and other necessities and up until the other day, was more focused on my shopping list than my surroundings. For as long as I can remember, the parking lot of this one particular store has always been a mess of swirling paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, styrofoam food trays and of course, countless plastic bags. Usually I would just wade through it anxious to get in, get my shopping done and get the Hell out.

So after doing my post the other day with Erin, I went to this same store to pick up a few items and suddenly, that swirling cesspool of paper, plastics and cardboard pissed me right off. How dare they allow such a mess to clutter up not only their own lot but blow freely into every other yard and probably right down to the harbor about a mile away and into the ocean.

I happened to have my camera in my purse and here is just a sample of how that parking lot looked. It was an absolute disgrace and I knew their head office would be appauled by the state of it.





So guess what this Bitchy Meno New Mom did? She got on the phone when she got home, she asked to speak to the manager and then very nicely told him of her concerns and that the state of their yard was unacceptable. After making a few excuses for the mess, the manager admitted that they could do better and that I was right. It would be addressed and he was going to hire a cleaning crew to take care of it immediately.

I haven't been by yet to see it but you can bet that if I'm not happy with the result, photos will be going to their head office where I know a mess like this will not be tolerated.

So here's what I want you to take away from this experience. Pay attention to the garbage that you see blowing around. When you see a store that is so obviously doing a piss-poor job at managing it, call it to their attention. They have a responsibility to their neighbors and the environment to keep their grounds in reasonably good condition. If they don't, WE ALL have the responsibilty to hold their feet to the fire until they do.

And just like I pointed out in my "Go Green For Spring" post, it's never been so easy to make a difference. All I did was make a quick phone call and take a few photos. All of us can find the time to do that for our environment.


And if you haven't already entered the Giveaways to help you "Go Green For Spring", links are Here and Here.  Good Luck!!
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40 comments:

Danielle said...

That is awesome that you took the time to do this!!

Babes Mami said...

Yay! I have been doing this for several years, getting mad when I see nasty and telling someone. It's so awesome that you have been inspired and obviously affected by Erin. Go green! :]

Debbiedoos said...

WOW, it is a mess!~ I am a big stickler when it comes to littering, I hate it!~ In Fact, today we had a boy in the neighborhood throw his juice box on our lawn.....my younger boy later said to me Mom if he comes knocking on our door again, I really do not want to play, I said why...he said he litters and has no manners lol!~ I am happy you called the manager, and am anxious to see if he did something about it!~

mommy_sammyk said...

You absolutely rock my world for calling that store!! Let us know how the clean up looks!
=D

Unknown said...

woot woot you go mama.. and YUCK if your parking lot looks like that I am not real sure I want to be in your store,personally.

KristinFilut said...

When I was in retail, I trained my employers to have a "European Shopkeeper Mentality", meaning keeping the walk, the lot, and the yard clean! Take pride in our place and surroundings.

Annie Z said...

Good for you, Deb. What a wonderfully empowering, green thing you have done! I so hope it makes a difference.

Anonymous said...

Great job! We seem to be alot alike! Im VERY intolerable of litter and such...always have been and used to be made fun of for it!

Glad to see others out there keeping an eye out and trying to make the world a better place!

Unknown said...

I love this post!!!
Good for you ;)

I noticed the same thing around my part of the world since the snow melted.
Trinity suggested (on her own) that we get a garbage bag and go for a walk and "help clean up the world"... I was sooo proud!!

Dual Mom said...

I'm trying to figure out which store you were at because I don't recognize the pictures!

You grocery shop on the weekends? Grocery stores on the weekends scare me. People are crazy!!!

Anonymous said...

I always tell people that if I were a police officer, I'd ticket all litterers to death.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe the parking lot looked like THAT! There is no excuse for that. Good for you for saying something. Are there littering laws in you area or security that walks the lots? It's not only sad that the management let it get to that point, but also sad that people are that irresponsible.

One Photo said...

That is definitely a mess! Where we live the parking lots never look like that - but if I eve find one that does I will do what you did! Good for you taking the initiative and (hopefully!) getting results.

Maureen@IslandRoar said...

Good for you! And you're right; it would be much harder to get away with this if all of us didn't tolerate it.

Amy said...

Yeah for speaking your mind..

Go Green..

Happy Monday..

kyooty said...

good job! you're right, so much mess!!!

Unknown said...

BRAVO, Deb! Gonna tweet this in a sec. So awesome that you did this. I am racking my brain and my camera is charging up. I wanna see what I can find/do for a follow up...

BluePixo Entertainment said...

Good job!

Visiting from "All About Toys"
http://bluepixo.blogspot.com

Shannon K. said...

Good for you, Deb! Could you imagine if we all took time to call out the offenders how much cleaner everything would be? I say bravo, my friend!!

Anonymous said...

Ew, that IS yucky! Hope they got it cleaned up!!

Macey said...

that's disgusting.
it looks like a freakin' garbage dump. i bet it smells too.

Respectfully Yours said...

Wow, you go girl. Well done, well done - insert clapping hands here.

Unknown said...

I hope they clean it up!

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Linda Medrano said...

Good for you Deb! A lot of us see things like this and think it's a shame but don't make that phone call. And we certainly should!

gayle said...

Your post is an excellent one and so very helpful in terms of getting all of us bloggers out here to look around us......and ask what can we do to make a difference!!! Thank you I will start looking around and seeing what I can do!! I will be making that phone call if I see a need to do so!!

Tammy said...

Good for you girlfriend! We live in Washington, the Evergreen state and it is a very prideful state...we strive to keep Washington green! We pick up litter on our family walks or when we see it. Most Washingtonians are very "green" (some are even called greeners)...now, I don't go that far but take pride in clean!

My Aimless Infatuation said...

You go girl and I will follow your advice.

The K Family said...

You rock! I would have been so upset seeing that mess too and would've done the same exact thing. Let's hope they hold true to their word and so something about it.

Love your blog! I'm also one of your newest followers!!

Liz Mays said...

You inspired me. I've never really thought about it before, but you're right. There's way too much crap outside businesses and there's no reason it should be like that. I'm taking your lead on this.

Buckeroomama said...

Good on you for doing that! I hope the store manages to "clean up" their act.

ethelmaepotter! said...

Those hormones are making you a really gutsy woman...and that's meant as a compliment!

I have to admit, I've never thought of doing this...but I certainly will from this point out! thanks!

Anita said...

When I see that, I'm reminded of how clean my favorite grocery store is - inside and out, and that I should not take it for granted.
I'm glad you said something because that "is" inexcusable.
I will not be on "the lookout" and inspired to act also.

Anonymous said...

Deb-you ROCK! How easy it is to just turn the other cheek..but you've inspired me...I'm gonna turn the hawk eyes on and quit giving things the blind eye....kudos!

Laffylady said...

Hi Deb.....would you like to join in on the fun..come visit my new blog http://livingwithlaughter.com
pick one of your favorite funny posts, past or present and email it to so i can put you on the starring lineup...check it out Id love to have you..!!

Salt said...

I'm so happy that you called about that disgusting mess! If more people would do what you did, imagine how much cleaner the world could be.

Thank goodness for cell phones.

Aunt Juicebox said...

LOL I just posted about trash today too.....good for you for bringing it to their attention. What a mess!

Susan said...

Oooo...you are good! I love the fact that you had your camera with ya! I do this quite often and my kids roll their eyes and die of embarrassment! I totally agree with you! My hubby is a GM and if his company's surroundings looked like this he would welcome the concerned customer pointing this out! Seriously, does any body take pride in their surroundings anymore?? I wish they would! Thanks for the post, it was great!

Heather said...

What a great post and very good advice! I would also like to add that it would really help, if folks would take the responsability of not throwing their garbage on the ground. As if says..oh well someone will clean that up.

Nakamuras on Saipan said...

OH...ABSOLUTELY...bravo-I would have done the same!

Matty said...

Good for you Deb. I have always despised littering. I hate it when someone tosses something out their car window.