Thursday, January 14, 2010

Ocala/Elkhart garbage can


In some areas of the city, Ocala gives each house a garbage can. It is numbered and belongs to that particular house (not the owners!) If you lose it or steal it, and they catch you, you have to attend 365 sessions of the City Council as punishment. Nah, just kidding. That would be cruel and unusual punishment which is forbidden by our Constitution). Anyway, these are special garbage cans that are emptied by special machinery on a garbage truck - no humans involved.

Our garbage can, which we received last year, was brand new and had a painted city logo. But a few blocks from us, the people had to do with "used" garbage cans which carried a City of Ocala decal.

One day, I noticed that the decals were peeling away to reveal that these garbage cans originally came from Elkhart, Indiana!

I have no idea what's going on here. Did Elkhart have more than they needed and so gave them to Ocala? Did Elkart have a financial crisis and thus sold off their garbage cans? Were they the wrong color?

This is one of the sweet...er, smelly...mysteries of life!

25 comments:

magiceye said...

whatever..
as long as it helps in keeping the neighbourhood clean!
lovely capture!

Olivier said...

originale comme idee de photo, mais au combien important dans la vie courante ;)

Tara said...

Ooopsss...they must have ordered more than what they needed? oh well, that'll remain a hanging question.

Don and Krise said...

It's them dad-burned trash can thieves. They's worse than horse thieves.

Actually if you live within the city limits here they do the same thing. I believe it had a lot to do with the fact that the garbage truck drivers (all of them in tip top shape I might add) don't even have to get out of the truck now. That way they don't miss the good part of the song on the radio. ;-)

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

I had heard of recycling trash, but not recycling city trash cans.

Unseen Rajasthan said...

Hi Jacob,This is a Well Desgined Garbage Can !! Great.

Pat said...

Yes, a mystery it is, but that has to be the classiest, cleanest garbage can I've seen!

Or maybe garbage cans head south, like birds..ha, ha.

VP said...

Newspaper would title this: garbage cans migrate South to Florida with fake documents.

Cezar and Léia said...

I think they are recycling :)
And please take about not lose it because I heard they can do you go to Indiana to catch a new one! :)
Have a nice weekend
God bless you
Léia

Wolynski said...

Don't know why, but this photo makes me laugh - it's so incongruous. You get the clubhouse AND the tennis court AND the swimming pool with your $400 dollar rent? One day (next year)I'll be an old Jew myself - must go to Florida.

Andreea said...

Maybe the mayors of Ocala and Elkhart played cards together and the mayor of Ocala won a pile of garbage cans :)

brattcat said...

Perhaps Elkhart is so green that they don't generate as much trash and thus no longer need all of their cans. Or perhaps they got different machines and thus needed different cans to suit the new machinery. It's really funny though, Jacob, and a great catch.

Small City Scenes said...

Did you ever solve the mystery? Are Elkhart natives sitting in chambers? Is jail involved? Inquiring minds want to know. MB

Lowell said...

@ Small City Scene - I'm sorry, I just don't know! Do you think Elkhart garbage workers stole Elkhart garbage cans and sold them on the sly to the City of Ocala?

Or maybe Elkhart garbage workers stole them and then pawned them and somehow they ended up in an Ocala pawn shop?

This mystery could be unsolvable.

Halcyon said...

Maybe they went bankrupt and the city had to sell all its assets (including trash bins) to pay off debts.

I think this post is going to bring alot of interesting speculation.

Lois said...

That certainly is something to ponder! Perhaps Elkhart decided to save money by telling people to just throw their garbage in their backyards and bury it like people used to do before garbage collection. A lot of historical artifacts have been found because of that old custom!

Judy said...

Garbage is always a mystery. Where does it go? What becomes of it all? I think I sleep better not knowing.
This looks like the same ones that we have but not city owned, we have to have a private trash removal company at our house.

Daryl said...

Dont you wonder whose trash containers the people of Elkhart are using?

cieldequimper said...

You really have an eye for the funny and strange! Have a great weekend both of you!

Louis la Vache said...

No mystery. That isn't a garbage can, it's a condo in Elkhart that came south for the winter...

Three Rivers, Michigan said...

Poor Elkhart! Now it can't afford to have garbage anymore!
Three Rivers Daily Photo

Ilse said...

Another one of those unanswered questions.

Anonymous said...

This is indeed a mystery! Maybe you could make a call down to the City and let us know! Now I'm curious!!!

julia said...

Ours have a less exciting shape, one for landfill rubbish and another for recyclables and we are urged to compost and keep worm farms to reduce what goes to landfill.

Lisa Wilson said...

How weird! Those garbage cans traveled a long way. I was disappointed that our new garbage polycart was used, too, especially since we had to pay a ridiculously high price for it. It is bear-proof though!

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." — Henri Cartier-Bresson