Street furniture gets a new definition

It is not surprising that the dividing line between a litterbug and a recycling activist is getting increasingly blurred in the conscientious west. Throwing away anything is now so deeply unfashionable in some countries that people there have been at their wits’ end about how to dump the detritus of their lives. Their woes are compounded by the fact that garbage and trash clearance has become a fortnightly or even monthly exercise by civic authorities, so waste putrefies into odoriferous compost willy-nilly. So, the latest trend in the west of simply chucking household goods out on to the street with a sign indicating it is “free” for anyone to pick up, use or recycle is clever. Making a virtue out of a necessity is an old trick, after all. One person’s junk could, indeed, become another one’s treasure, though bug-ridden sofas may be a tough call. But, this way, at least street furniture has got a new definition if not always a new home.

In India, daily waste collection in urban areas is still the norm, unless local governments do not pay the wages of sanitation workers on time. But, more importantly, other than wet garbage and old packaging, Indians hardly ever want to get rid of any possessions no matter how decrepit. No wonder this national trait is the most crucial challenge for ‘fast furniture’ and ‘fast fashion’ sellers.