Kenny Be's Sign Language: Dumpster wars

An outsider could never tell by looking at the peaceful streets of Denver that numerous alley battles are raging across the city. Behind the scenes, the Mile High City's typically liberal residents turn into territorial trash monsters. Even I, a sidewalk-snow-scooper-for-next-door-seniors type of neighbor who can barely squeeze out a...

By Kenny Be

November 6, 2009

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An outsider could never tell by looking at the peaceful streets of Denver that numerous alley battles are raging across the city. Behind the scenes, the Mile High City's typically liberal residents turn into territorial trash monsters. Even I, a sidewalk-snow-scooper-for-next-door-seniors type of neighbor who can barely squeeze out a plastic grocery bag's worth of trash per week, have been yelled at -- at gun point! -- for placing my paltry parcel of waste in the wrong dumpster in the alley behind my house.

So, naturally, when I first saw the hand-painted garage-wall sign pictured above, I was less surprised at the content than the high-quality of artistic skill! Look how evenly the letters are spaced on every line. The bold-faced brush stroke used in the words "Stop" and "Ecocycle" show the professional touch of a typesetter. The sign is direct, helpful and courteous. I was momentarily curious if the visual communication had stopped the miscreant(s) from their dirty dumping. However, I could not bring myself to lift the lid and look into the dumpster. I learned long ago to keep my nose out of other people's garbage, thank you very mulch!

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