U know I love u Geoff, but this one was so first-world, I just had to say this about shopping carts and most of S. Asia... there is always someone there to bag and cart your stuff to the parking lot for ya... they PAY PEOPLE to stand there and wait for you to buy a bag of tomatoes, so carts are not needed. We also buy less. We obey the golden rule of shopping: if you can't hand carry it without aid, you have bought too much. Plus, the kids here would just steal the carts and go have some old-fashioned go-cart fun anyway, so that's why you won't see a single shopping cart, say, in the entire country of Nepal. But I do agree, just like Ghandi said you can judge a nation by how they treat animals, I'm sure all would agree that you can judge a nation by how well they return shopping carts to where they found them. Just makes sense.
Yep, this is very first world, but in a way, it is part of the social contract. Where people are expected to think outside their narrow interests, and not denigrate others for their immediate gratification.
I remember when I used to travel to Taiwan (an interesting melange of first and third world) and buying things from a bodega (like 7-11's) where you paid some real money (at the time in the late 1990's about the equivalent of 25 cents US) for a bag for your purchases. A lot of people brought in a bag to reuse, and I quickly learned to have one with me when I went to buy a sandwich, soda or other goodie.
but yup again Geoff u are correct. I think the sensibility u speak of extends beyond the bounds of countries and UN classifications. General politeness and thriftiness go hand in hand in many many parts of the world. 30 years ago Sikkim banned all plastic bags in the city of Gangtok (don't know where that is, well, no one does). I believe maybe all plastic by now, I have not been in a decade or more, but that city was spotless relative to any Asian city I've been. So it's not just recycling, again, it's an ancient wisdom of what's right to do that is within some cultures, and not others. I guess?
Aldi’s has it right. It’s a quarter to unlock the cart. Then you get it back when you return the cart to the line of them. Yes, I know it’s only 2 bits, but it seems to work. No one needed to shlep carts either.
U know I love u Geoff, but this one was so first-world, I just had to say this about shopping carts and most of S. Asia... there is always someone there to bag and cart your stuff to the parking lot for ya... they PAY PEOPLE to stand there and wait for you to buy a bag of tomatoes, so carts are not needed. We also buy less. We obey the golden rule of shopping: if you can't hand carry it without aid, you have bought too much. Plus, the kids here would just steal the carts and go have some old-fashioned go-cart fun anyway, so that's why you won't see a single shopping cart, say, in the entire country of Nepal. But I do agree, just like Ghandi said you can judge a nation by how they treat animals, I'm sure all would agree that you can judge a nation by how well they return shopping carts to where they found them. Just makes sense.
Yep, this is very first world, but in a way, it is part of the social contract. Where people are expected to think outside their narrow interests, and not denigrate others for their immediate gratification.
I remember when I used to travel to Taiwan (an interesting melange of first and third world) and buying things from a bodega (like 7-11's) where you paid some real money (at the time in the late 1990's about the equivalent of 25 cents US) for a bag for your purchases. A lot of people brought in a bag to reuse, and I quickly learned to have one with me when I went to buy a sandwich, soda or other goodie.
Very civilized
but yup again Geoff u are correct. I think the sensibility u speak of extends beyond the bounds of countries and UN classifications. General politeness and thriftiness go hand in hand in many many parts of the world. 30 years ago Sikkim banned all plastic bags in the city of Gangtok (don't know where that is, well, no one does). I believe maybe all plastic by now, I have not been in a decade or more, but that city was spotless relative to any Asian city I've been. So it's not just recycling, again, it's an ancient wisdom of what's right to do that is within some cultures, and not others. I guess?
Yes! Do this and be civilized. And don’t leave trash in the cart either!
Amen sister!
Aldi’s has it right. It’s a quarter to unlock the cart. Then you get it back when you return the cart to the line of them. Yes, I know it’s only 2 bits, but it seems to work. No one needed to shlep carts either.