A major peeve of mine is seeing folks in the lounge leave all their trash by their seat for an attendant to clean up when a trash can is RIGHT beside them. There are ample bins in the lounge. And I'd say more people DONT throw out their trash than do.
It takes next to no effort to toss it out yourself.

Just doooo it...

Some folks are lazy and live in a bubble from which they see nothing or nobody but themselves. It seems to happen the most after they enter an aircraft or airport lounge...

I try to stop thinking about this after reading the thread about finding a used diaper in the seat pocket...blech....

It's a no win situation. UA actually does seem to put trash containers almost everywhere, but some people can't be bothered. Self-bussing of dishes/glasses is not as convenient - some Clubs (eg IAH C South, LAX T7) usually leave trays out for dish returns but others (LAX T6, LAS) don't, which means you have to leave them on the bar, which annoys some bartenders. I usually clean up after myself (annoyed bartender be damned) because I know how annoying it is to go into a crowded Club and the available seats have apple cores, trash, dishes. Not as bad as a diaper on a seat pocket, but that's pretty rare.

A high-quality establishment has a bussing staff to take care of its patrons. The most talented bussing staffs go about their business while somehow remaining invisible and inaudible. I must say with some regret that it's been a while since I've had either impression at a UC.

Very true. And unfortunately, this statement applies to the majority of people I have encountered on an airplane or in an airport -- in their own world and no regard for the fact that they are sharing the aircraft or lounge with others.

At a lot of the clubs, it's quite unclear what you're to do with your dishes and trash. There are trash bins everywhere, but there aren't often places to put your dishes (and if there are places to put dishes, they're often hidden, like they're meant to be used by staff). So am I supposed to take my wrappers & trash to the bin and then leave my dishes? I can't think of any other place with this arrangement. It's usually an all or nothing deal with cleaning up (you either clean it all up, or they clean it all up). You add in the fact that there are indeed bussing staff, and I can understand that most people are simply expecting the bussing staff to clean up after them.

If you're talking about people leaving trash from their luggage and other sources, I can understand your frustration. But, IME, the trash/clutter that builds up in most of the clubs is about half dishes/cups and half service items (wrappers, napkins, food waste).

I think the real root of the problem is the poor bussing staff. I've sat around the DEN club watching trash building up everywhere, and although the staff made plenty of rounds, they never picked up the massive piles of dishes and such on the table.

Just my 2 cents.

Really though, I am definitely one that always clean up after my self, but I can understand the confusion some other people might have. It's kind of the opposite of my experience at a McDonald's in Hong Kong. They served us on cheap plastic trays just like in the US, with all the disposable goods, but there wasn't a single trash can to dispose of the trash in (which I only realized after wandering around the whole place like a stupid American with my tray). Apparently there it's the norm to just leave your tray on the table and the staff takes care of it.

Joke told to me by United FA:


FA to pax: "What's the difference between the seatback pocket and a trashcan"

Pax: "I dunno"

FA: "That's ok, no else seems to know either."

Just like smokers flicking their butts on the ground, out of habit, as they are within arm's length reach of a tray - some folks just have no clue or consideration.

Ask a rancher about that...really upsetting cuz when it starts a grass fire there is nobody paying to replace burned fences and hay or grasses in the field. Agree UC does get a lot of folks who could easily clean up but don't. A shame indeed.

Some airline lounges often have staff picking up the dishes and garbage like clockwork. But to assume that all lounges has this system in place is a bit selfish.

It could be selfish or it could be distracted. If the lounges you regularly frequent all are set up for staff to bus dishes and garbage, you may not notice that the lounge you currently are in is not structured that way.

Are we to assume that you litter in lounges?

At the end of the day, if the trash is missed once in awhile.. there has to be give in these lounges. If the lounge expects us to throw out the trash, then put up some signs and say so. Explicit instructions thats highly visible would be helpful, and end questions such as ones raised in this thread.

At the UCs and *A lounges I visit, they all have bussing staff who are supposed to keep the place clean and to clear away used dishes etc. However, I take it as my responsibility to leave the area I'm vacating reasonably tidy. To do that, I put items like banana skins and food wrappers on the plate. If I have personal trash, I put it in an available trash can - but I'm not going to put their crockery plates in a trash can!