Originally Posted by
Sjoerd
There are many, many trash bins at Damrak (also very close to the KFC). As I said before in this thread, people from Amsterdam avoid Damrak like the plague. It is a tourist trap. So most Amsterdammers don't even see that it is sometimes a mess there, and we don't care.
By the way, last time I was in New York City (2003) I found it much dirtier than Amsterdam.
By the way (2), funny that you are angry that some people blame the problem on "Americans" and continue to give the example of KFC, a very American company that produces astonishing amounts of litter.
1) You SHOULD care that your city is a mess. The level of sanitation around your most visited areas is a disgrace. It's obvious, however, that the city of Amsterdam doesn't care, as you state. However, the litter is not isolated to the touristy areas.
2) The "very american" brand of KFC is paying the city of Amsterdam its fair share of income taxes, for which the city should reciprocate by doing its job of keeping the city hygenic. (And what about the rest of the trash? Is KFC/Pizza Hut/McDonalds responsible for it?).
Those "tourist traps" that you revile pay a lot of taxes, and remain very popular with your own citizens. Your city has the responsibility to keep it clean, safe, and orderly. I don't think you do a very good job in that regard.
FWIW, remember the very popular (Dutch, I believe) song....de Pizzahut? "The Pizza Hut The Pizza Hut Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Pizza Hut....McDonalds, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and de Pizza Hut"....(We Americans didn't write that ode to fast food).
And how is it that KFC produces an "astonishing amount of litter"??? They sell food in containers, just like any other vendor. I have seen FAR FAR more Heineken produced litter, at least by 100 to 1, including bottles, cans, coasters, etc.
3) As to New York, I dare say that on a scale of 1 - 10 (10 being the dirtiest), New York is in the 3 - 5 area, and Amsterdam is in the 8 - 10 range. New York has taken extreme measures to clean up its act, has Amsterdam???
It's not the fault of those companies who sell items that become the garbage, but the partial responsibility of the (mostly drunk) people who toss it on the ground, and entirely the responsibility of the city to keep it clean.