Weird news - Sending trash in a package to her son

In a family, there are different responsibilities allotted to different members of the family. This is particularly important as children are growing up, since that is the age when they learn responsibilities and even if they are reluctant at times, it is something that they need to do. Some of the tasks seem onerous such as shoveling the snow, removing leaves, or taking out the trash seem something that the allotted person would try to avoid, but they need to be done. In this particular case, the mother wanted to make sure that the message was clear enough that if the son went away from home without taking out the trash, it would follow him (link to article):

A Pennsylvania college student got a reminder to take out the trash when his mother sent him some garbage in a care package. Eighteen-year-old Connor Cox tells WHTM-TV that his mother sent two boxes to him at Westminster College in New Wilmington last month. One box contained food and other goodies. The other contained garbage. When he called to ask whether that was a mistake, Cox’s mother, Connie, told him, “No, that’s the trash you were supposed to take out” during a recent visit home.

Weird news - Man jumps out of 9th floor in a New York building, rubbish saves his life

Most people bemoan a situation when rubbish is not being collected on time, since that seems to contribute to a lowered opinion of the locality, leads to an issue where there are health implications, and also draws the attention of scavengers and animals (including smaller insects) and so on. However, in the case of emergencies, the collection of garbage can be affected, since garbage collection is at a lower priority than other municipal activities. So, for example, when there was a lot of snow during recent storms in New York, garbage collection was badly affected and piles of rubbish were piled up in many localities. But they also saved a life (link to article):

A man who leapt from his ninth-floor New York apartment in a apparent suicide bid survived after landing on piles of rubbish left uncollected in the recent snow storm. Vangelis Icapatos, 26, plunged 100ft from his building on West 45th Street wearing just his pajamas and landed on his back, according to police.
He was taken to Bellvue Hospital, where his condition is said to be stable, after the rubbish broke his fall. A police spokesman added: 'He landed on a garbage pile - that’s the only reason he’s alive.'

Turning rubbish into a tourist spot

Imagine turning a part of the sea into a landfill by dumping ash (generated from burning garbage) into it, and eventually this turns into an island. Sounds gross, does it not ? Imagine the smell such a place would have, you would want to be as far away from such a place as possible. So then does it seem possible that such a landfill actually becomes a place where birds come to make their resting ground, many varieties of sea creatures flock here, and people throng the place for getting some good roaming places ? Don't believe me, then read this ?

SINGAPORE: Once there was a dirty bit of sea next to the world's busiest port here. Today it is an island where birds nest and people play, though the entire island is made of rubbish. You wouldn't know unless you were told. There's no sight or smell at Semakau landfill to indicate it is the last depository of Singapore's garbage. The corals and all the animals of the beach have been fooled too - they think it's a natural island, and they have grown in droves around it.
The place is so clean it has turned into a new holiday spot. Students come in droves for inter-tidal walks where they gawk at mangrove roots, seagrass, coral reefs, crabs, starfishes, sponges, shrimps and many other forms of life that thrive in the belt between high and low tide marks. Birdwatchers come to glimpse at some of the 66 species recorded at Semakau, sport-fishermen love its artificial lagoon and even amateur astronomers prefer it because they can get away from the glare of the city lights.

The good point is that the authorities believe that the quantity of ash being generated is getting reduces due to the citizens becoming more concerned about the environment.

A house full of garbage

In a tragedy at a house that left investigators stumped, an elderly woman was found in a dehydrated condition in a house buried underneath a pile of debris, garbage and animal feces in a home. An elderly man was found dead. The woman was found after fire-fighters went to the two-story house in Long Island, New York, after relatives said that they could not reach her.
When they reached the house, they found every room piled high with debris mixed with human and animal waste, in some rooms, all the way to the ceiling.
The investigators were not sure how long they were like this, but neighbours had seen them last over a week ago. A strong stench was in the house. The house now sports a sign on the front saying that it was unfit for human occupancy. Read the CNN story.