Recently seen looking down into the Municipal Park Lake were several empty bread bags. You can guess the source of empty plastic bread bags with regards to Municipal Park and public feeding the birds and ducks.
So, the question is why are loose plastic bread bags polluting the lake? One would assume the plentiful duck feeding Litter Pigs in Mobile just throw their plastic litter on the ground. I am of the other opinion. I think most people who visit the parks in Mobile put their trash in available trash containers.
I think the litter problem in some City of Mobile Parks is directly related to the inferior garbage cans used in Mobile's parks which are open barrel containers - none of which have lids on them.
In the case of parks where the public feeds animals such as dogs, cats, birds, etc, the critters quickly learn to go into open garbage cans and dig for food leaving litter from their digging process scattered on the nearby ground. This is not theory. I have witnessed birds and cats and dogs in open garbage cans pulling on trash.
According to the City of Mobile Municipal Litter code, Section 25-40 (a), "All household solid waste shall be stored in tightly closed metal, rubber or plastic cans constructed so as to prevent such material scattering of garbage by wind, water, traffic or scavenging animals."
Section 25-42 (c)(2) reiterates that litter receptacles on any premises shall meet the following minimum standards, "Constructed and designed or covered in such a manner as to prevent or preclude litter from escaping from the receptacle."
Section 25-42 (c)(3) also states the Litter receptacle shall be "Serviced with such frequency as necessary to prevent spillage from overflow and to prevent offensive odor."
The very definition of Garbage Can in the Litter Ordinance is, "A watertight receptacle for temporary storage of putrescible and nonputrescible waste, constructed of substantial metal, plastic or rubber ... with a tight-fitting lid or cover..."
Yeah boy, City of Mobile parks and the waterways around those parks are being littered more by the City of Mobile than by the public that uses the parks. That is because the City of Mobile Park Garbage Cans fail to meet the minimum standards that the City's Litter Law mandates.
Most people responsibly throw their trash in the available park garbage cans with no lid on them. The consequence of the City's substandard garbage receptacles is wind blows loose trash out of the open garbage cans. Animals and birds pick trash out of the cans and deposit it on the ground. To make matters worse, the garbage cans at parks are not emptied frequently enough to prevent overflow spillage onto the ground.
It is time someone in the City of Mobile Parks and Recreation Department or the City of Mobile Public Works to be FIRED! It is time for the City to start using garbage cans with Lids on them. It is time for the City of Mobile to follow its own litter code.