Reflections on Litter and Good Food
- penelopeeicher
- Aug 20, 2022
- 2 min read
During our first five weeks in Portugal we enjoyed public transportation as we looked for our long-term home. Lisbon offers us a modern metro (subway), buses, taxis, elevadors (hill climbing rides), charming electric trams, Uber rides, trains, light rail, ferries, and daily opportunities to use our own two legs. We explored hilly neighborhoods, visited museums, toured historical buildings, and traveled hours every week to find our new home for the coming year. During all these travels we noticed something missing from the Portuguese landscape: litter.
Sete Rios, the primary bus terminal in Lisbon, serves thousands of people daily with buses departing every few minutes for regions across the country. The terminal was always clean. The restrooms were clean. Subway stations were clean. The train cars were clean. No litter anywhere! What is different in Portugal from the US?
Short answer: People do not snack or eat take-out on public transportation. Although permitted, we saw no one eating or carrying a beverage in hand during our five weeks in the area. We saw a few vending machines, but we saw only one person making a purchase.
Why don’t Portuguese people eat on public transport? Snacking is a national pastime in the US. Why not in Portugal? Here is my speculation.
Portuguese people live in families, often with three or more generations together. They eat as a family. They socialize with their families. They have meals together and do not rush. They live the slow food life. Workers typically go home for lunch for 1.5 hours or meet at a restaurant with friends for a long, conversation-rich meal. A family-owned restaurant will close from 1:30 to 3:00 so all employees can sit down, eat together, and enjoy conversation. Life here is about relationships first, not about"turning tables" and making more money.
Portugues people love to eat, and the food is fresh and delicious. They never rush their meals. When you enjoy the satisfaction of good food and good company, snacks and fast food have no appeal. Thus, the vending machines are idle, and buses, trains, and light rail remain litter-free.
Several parks in Lisbon feature charming gigantic sculptures made entirely from trash and discarded water bottles, stressing the public responsibility to help our oceans and planet.
I noted this one little cluster of trash on a footbridge in Lisbon. Ironic to see what our society exports to other nations, isn’t it?
After five weeks, with a lease in hand, we returned to the US to complete documents for our application for a long-term residential visa. People here in the US ask us about our re-entry to this country. Well, I had an OMG moment deplaning from our return flight from Washington DC to Las Vegas. These images of trash on the plane were of four seats in FIRST CLASS – and I could not capture how bad these areas really were. No further comment.
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Interesting there was so much debris left in seats. Do flight attendants no longer go down the aisles with a bag to collect everyone's trash anymore? Your observations are always thought provoking. Where does our failure to pick up after ourselves begin? Early childhood? Young adulthood? Senility? Is the entitlement attitude really the culprit or the lack of teaching on the part of parents?
you flying first class now?
Love that gato!!!
I’m in agreement with all of the above comments
we recently drove from WA State into BC Canada
It appears that Canadians are much tidier and can afford a fresh coat of paint-the difference was immediately apparent
It’s an interesting observation! We become so used to seeing litter and having someone clean up after us that it is striking to see the lack of litter. Something to think about! I love the idea of long family meals and conversation. Thanks for sharing your experiences.