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The 'Atlanta Magnet Man' is saving our car tires, one bike ride at a time

alanbernstein
48 replies
1d4h

This makes me want to get a battery powered shop vac, so I can carry it on my bike and spot-clean gravel and glass messes...

duxup
32 replies
1d4h

When my kids were younger I used to bring things to clean up / fix local playgrounds that I was at every day. Later I saw another parent doing the same.

As much as I or someone might feel I "shouldn't" have to, it's pretty efficient to just have someone do the job right then and there.

micromacrofoot
26 replies
1d3h

If everyone pitched in just a tiny bit, picking up a single piece of "someone else's" trash... we'd live in a significantly nicer world. There's a very stubborn "I didn't do it, not my problem" mindset in the US specifically.

dotnet00
14 replies
1d3h

The "I didn't do it, not my problem" mindset arises because of people with a "I did do it, but it still isn't my problem" mindset. The person who cares enough to clean up a mess in a local park is eventually going to give up when they notice that it's always the same people leaving the mess in the first place and that cleaning up for them is only emboldening them further.

Ideally what would happen is that people would be self-conscious enough to figure out after one or two slip ups that someone else is having to clean up for them, and feel bad enough to avoid doing it in the future.

This has become one of my bigger hard learned lessons. I used to go out of my way to be as considerate as possible to everyone I interacted with, trying to predict issues and mentioning them early to make things easier for others even if it might inconvenience myself. The idea was that people would reciprocate enough that it'd make things easier for myself too.

But over the years I've had to stop accepting that, because as it turns out, most people really don't care. Being extremely accommodating and planning ahead to fit someone's constraints won't mean that I get the courtesy returned. They'll just continue to push me around at their own convenience.

micromacrofoot
9 replies
1d3h

after one or two slip ups that someone else is having to clean up for them, and feel bad enough to avoid doing it in the future.

I've lived long enough to know that this won't happen in my lifetime, it requires an entirely different societal mindset... something closer to shame/collectivism a country like Japan has (they still have litterers of course, but a much smaller number)

Chronic litterbugs don't care, they're often low enough on the hierarchy of needs that this kind of morality isn't on their radar at all.

If everyone pitched in, you might pick up a single piece of trash occasionally... so you'd avoid the "I just cleaned up this whole park yesterday" problem, because in theory you'd have a larger number or people doing a little work rather than a smaller number doing most of it.

I regularly pick up trash in my neighborhood, so I get it though... it's impossible for one person to keep up with.

ryandrake
3 replies
1d1h

Chronic litterbugs don't care, they're often low enough on the hierarchy of needs that this kind of morality isn't on their radar at all.

Don’t forget the deliberate litterbugs. There are plenty of people out there with a “for every bottle you pick up, I’ll litter three” attitude. Belligerence against anything seen as a public good is on the rise. I know someone who believes having a clean, trash-free neighborhood is a “liberal” thing. Blows my mind.

micromacrofoot
0 replies
1d

I've seen "this graffiti makes rent cheaper" too, good point

HeyLaughingBoy
0 replies
23h55m

Assholes abound. Don't let them control your life, is my philosophy.

HEmanZ
0 replies
23h24m

I see you’ve met some of my relatives.

creato
3 replies
21h48m

Chronic litterbugs don't care, they're often low enough on the hierarchy of needs that this kind of morality isn't on their radar at all.

I used to think trash around my neighborhood was from just a general mass of people not caring about littering. It sounds like that's what you think too.

Then, one day, I saw a homeless guy dumping every single trash can on the street out completely, tearing open the bags, looking for maybe 2 seconds, and then moving on to the next trash can.

Call me harsh, but that behavior should merit a serious prison sentence. I think people overestimate the damage something like this causes to the environment, but underestimate the damage it does to society and the way people think about each other.

saagarjha
0 replies
13h38m

I do want to say that we, as a society, place people in the position where they are more likely to do things that hurt everyone far more than it would be to lift them out of whatever position they’re in. It’s hard to make progress on this because, like, the homeless person knows just as well as anyone else that they shouldn’t make a mess, and the person who can’t afford to eat knows just as well as anyone else that they shouldn’t steal toiletries from stores. And many people in those situations do actually avoid doing that, which is great. But what would be even better is removing factors that make it more likely that people will behave poorly or justify it to themselves. I feel really good about trips I make on the train rather than the car but it’s partially because I have the time and money to do this pretty easily.

jstarfish
0 replies
6h1m

Call me harsh, but that behavior should merit a serious prison sentence.

Not harsh, just lacking creativity and losing sight of what prison is for.

For every piece of litter dropped, the sentence should be to pick up 10 more. Make criminals fix the problems they cause.

bombcar
0 replies
19h45m

This is the kind of societal harm that does warrant (apparently) harsh punishment, because if it gets out of control there is just no way to resolve it.

It doesn't have to be prison-prison; but something like that does call for maybe a Nordic-style prison that isolates society from the low-level but consistent harm.

It's all very tragedy of the commons.

dotnet00
0 replies
1d3h

Yep, although there's also just an issue of people not seeing their surroundings as something they own. I've seen this in collectivist societies too.

For example, in India, there's a pretty jarring contrast in big cities, between pristine modern buildings with immaculate interiors situated on a street literred with garbage. While Indian society loves to label littering as shameful, because no one sees the street as something they also partly own, their idea of cleaning only extends to keeping their own building immaculate.

wolverine876
3 replies
23h41m

The person who cares enough to clean up a mess in a local park is eventually going to give up

Maybe some, but certainly not all!

The idea was that people would reciprocate enough that it'd make things easier for myself too.

Here is the flaw in your plan; it was a flaw in my plan too. In more naive days, I thought that too. Then at some point we realize what you did: people don't do good things, and you aren't going to change most of them.

That's when we can take a big step forward, and learn what true altruism, generosity, and most of all, what love is: It's caring for and doing good for people who don't 'deserve' it; who act like jerks and idiots, who even do bad things. Anyone who has done good in their life learns this lesson. That is love, the only love in any meaningful sense.

That truth is well known, but not always widely discussed. Look at the Gospels in Christianity, and everything that says we are all sinners. Look at stories of prophets in every culture: ignored, attacked, lynched. More contemporaneously, do you think people who do great good, like Washington or Gandhi or MLK, did not realize what you did about human nature? All those people, those religions, those philosophers - they all know. When Jefferson wrote 'All men are created equal, and are endowed with inalienable rights', he knew who he was writing about. When the framers of the Constitution wrote about forming 'a more perfect union', they knew that would be done would be 'of the people, by the people, and for the people' (as Lincoln said later) - and they knew about people.

And it's about you too. You're a sinner, and an asshole, and ignorant too, just like me. If that's not love, if love excludes those people, who loves you and me? Remember that ancient prayer: 'Forgive us our trespasses ...'.

dotnet00
2 replies
20h1m

I appreciate your intent, but as much as I might try, I don't have endless energy or patience.

Last year I was forced to drag my belongings between 3 apartments, each time with zero forewarning, in the summer heat, to rooms with no AC (despite my initial room having been AC, and my still having to pay the higher rent for it), while I had to prepare for my first ever research conference and later was recovering from the worst flu I've ever had, they even dragged me to a roommate conduct meeting which had nothing to do with me, right in the middle of moving. The person the meeting was actually about didn't even attend.

Each time, I had to go to the dorm office and talk to the head administrator in person to get any useful information on what was going on, and was only offered to be compensated after the third time when I came in to the administrator's office, looking half dead from the flu.

I refuse to 'love' people who would put complete strangers through all that suffering without seeming to put in even the smallest effort to empathize and try to make things easier (eg by explaining the things in the email, which they told me in person). I'm not a prophet or saint, nor do I aspire to be one. The only people entitled to my completely unconditional love, generosity, tolerance etc are my immediate family, and friends to a slightly lesser extent. With most other people I'm happy to be polite and help them in small ways by default, but going out of my way to be helpful stops as soon as it becomes obvious that they don't even think about reciprocating in even the smallest of ways. It simply isn't worth the stress I put myself through, and besides not being fair to me, it isn't fair to everyone who does try to reciprocate.

I've had many other similar experiences of my kindness being shamelessly exploited by people who haven't earned it, to the point that they became a bonding moment with my father as he too has had lots of experience with that and had come to a similar approach to treating human interaction. He often got accused of being insincere because of how much effort he put into keeping things smooth for people who reciprocated compared to those who didn't.

wolverine876
1 replies
19h35m

Hey - none of us have endless energy or patience. We just do our best.

I don't mean to be dismissive about your experience; we all have a hard road, and some much harder than others. Still, if we're talking about it honestly: Why should the admnistrator and other people have compassion for you if you don't have it for others? I'll bet that, not being saint and under all that stress, you weren't perfect in what you were doing. I'll bet the administrator and others were also under many different stressors like you were; who was understanding them?

The only way there is compassion in the world is when it's between stressed people acting less than their best, often much less. If it's restricted to near-perfection, it wouldn't exist; the word 'compassion' wouldn't have any usage or meaning.

But that doesn't mean I do it well all the time. And I'm a jerk too and I hope people have compassion for me.

jstarfish
0 replies
6h9m

I'll bet that, not being saint and under all that stress, you weren't perfect in what you were doing.

Foul. I applaud your boldness (the world needs it) but if you're going to play Bad Cop then you have to bring something more to the table than the rationalizations of a gambler. Otherwise this is coercion.

My favorite example: "I'd bet you wouldn't suck my dick, you homophobe." Your answer determines whether you go to bed tonight as a loser, a villain, or a cocksucker.

When you get these sorts of accusations wrong, you're being cruel to an otherwise-innocent person and causing them to doubt themselves. This causes harm. Skepticism and compassion can coexist-- it's called certainty. Call your shots or don't take them.

The only way there is compassion in the world is when it's between stressed people acting less than their best, often much less. If it's restricted to near-perfection, it wouldn't exist; the word 'compassion' wouldn't have any usage or meaning.

Yep. Forgiving minor trespasses, turning the other cheek and all that hippie Jesus shit makes for a pretty chill life. Even he lost his temper.

duxup
10 replies
1d3h

Yeah the "someone else should do it" kinda thing is a weird self re-enforcing kinda thing too. Seems to just stoke anger and inaction.

Like I show up at a playground at say 8 am, maybe the trash left there was from 8 hours ago ... now someone gets upset that the city didn't do a thing that is probably a rebellious expectation (can't patrol all the parks overnight every 8 hours) and they shove their hands in their pockets and pout.

I'd rather folks just pick some stuff up and toss it in the bin nearby and we're all good.

easyas124
6 replies
1d3h

I'd rather the litterbugs just not litter in the first place. (Sure, accidents happen, but I've seen ten times more outright antisocial trash dumping than forgetting a candy wrapper by mistake.) People get upset because it is entirely possible to live in a world where you don't have to clean up after people who don't take responsibility for themselves, and I think a lot of people are tired of it.

kgermino
3 replies
1d3h

There's loads of littering by me but I don't think people realize how much of the trash blowing around isn't left out by individuals (intentionally or accidentally) but an artifact of our trash collection process.

A lot of the litter by me either falls out of the bin/truck during collection, is dug out of trash cans by squirrels, or spills out when the wind opens the can lid or even blows it over completely. There's things we can do to mitigate that but it'll never be perfect so you'll always see "someone else's trash" blowing in the wind.

micromacrofoot
1 replies
1d3h

There's the whole other aspect of people who don't care to properly bag trash (which attracts more vermin that also spread litter). It's a very frustrating situation.

kgermino
0 replies
1d1h

Oh I hate that! It's far from a perfect solution - bags tear, you can't bag recyclables, sidewalk and park trash cans will always have loose trash - but it's huge and too many people don't know or care to do it.

duxup
0 replies
1d3h

My trash pickup day is Wednesday, and it is always the windiest day.

duxup
1 replies
1d3h

I've never really found "those people shouldn't do that" does much to change things or make the world a better place.

lostlogin
0 replies
14h41m

Best proof of this is seen in shared kitchens.

A sign saying that keeping the place clean is a shared responsibility is sure to get things back on track…

micromacrofoot
0 replies
1d3h

What tends to irritate me, is that sometimes people will make a reddit post where they took a photo of trash to post "what's wrong with people"... and they just walked away from it.

If you can stop for a moment to take a picture, you could pick a piece of it up too... but there's also the "ah I don't have time to do it all so I won't do anything"

drivers99
0 replies
1d1h

There was a video advocating for picking up other people's litter (that I can't seem to find) I really liked that said (paraphrased) "in order for a piece of litter to exist, it takes 1 person to litter and 1000 people to not pick it up. And in order for it not to exist, it takes just 1 person to pick it up."

dpkirchner
0 replies
1d1h

Sometimes "someone else should do it" can be translated to "someone that is being paid to do it should do it." I don't want to affect someone's livelihood, however it's a different story if they're ignoring the task.

neocritter
2 replies
1d3h

It's hard to strike a balance between taking responsibility when no one else will and not being a doormat, but it's one worth finding.

wil421
0 replies
1d2h

When I kayak I pick up bottles and cans when I see them. I’m not digging in the mud to get stuff but if I’m close I’ll make an effort to collect trash. Same on the beach and camp sites.

Empact
0 replies
1d3h

As someone who likes to pick up incidental litter along my way, my practices on this front are:

* I make a point of not picking up everything I see, rather just do an incremental bit at each opportunity

* I set a basic standard for when I should: if I literally see litter and a trashcan along the path I’m traveling - the goal being to minimize the cost / maximize the value of the effort.

Even with such minimal practices I probably pick up more litter than 90+% of people. :P

Tade0
1 replies
1d1h

There's a loose mount on a swing at a nearby playground that's been driving me crazy, because it goes klak-klak as the swing swings, but I can't reach it from where I stand.

The swing did undergo some maintenance in the meantime, but somehow that one part is still loose.

wolverine876
0 replies
23h59m

I'd be careful repairing swings and similar equipment: If you make a mistake, if you simply misunderstand some mechanic of it (e.g., part X needs to be loose because of tolerances for part Y), someone could get seriously injured.

Mountain_Skies
9 replies
1d3h

When I lived in Atlanta, there was a large line item on my annual property tax for street sweeping, which didn't seem to make much of a difference at keeping the roads clear of debris. There were many streets near me that obviously had not been swept in years, and while I did see them come up my street a few times, given the traffic volume, it has hardly frequent enough. They also didn't seem to have any kind of communication process between the police, who respond to traffic accidents, and the street sweepers, who never came by after an accident spread debris all over the road. Sometimes the police would have a stiff push broom in their trunk to do a quick sweep of the large stuff into the gutter but for the most part accident sites would remain a hazard until it had rained enough to carry the debris down to the storm drains to be clogged up by it.

People complain all the time about underfunded cities but if every property in the city was getting charged as much as I was per year, the street sweeping service should have been worldclass. It's things like this that make people distrust city government and not inclined to give them more money for little return.

datadrivenangel
6 replies
1d3h

Atlanta, in addition to the traffic, is also known for their corruption.

ethbr1
3 replies
1d3h

Is it?

The Kasim Reed years produced a few federal prosecutions [e.g. 0], but generally it's been pretty quiet?

And it's not like the US Attorney isn't looking. So either Atlanta politicians are better at hiding their crimes, or they aren't committing them at the average rate [1].

Subjectively, I'd say that Atlanta has a fair amount of low-level corruption (see the Park amounts), but generally avoids the major-level corruption that other cities get caught in.

[0] https://www.ajc.com/news/local/torpy-large-when-the-cost-you...

[1] https://pols.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/273/2023/11/Co...

bigbillheck
2 replies
1d

The whole "Cop City" stuff seems pretty corrupt.

ethbr1
1 replies
23h31m

Which part?

The city wants to use some land for a public purpose. They steamrolled local opposition to do so.

It'd arguably be more corrupt if they turned around and sold it to developers. (I haven't looked at the details of how City Hall East was sold into Ponce City Market)

To me, corruption is individual enrichment at injury to the public or subverting legal processes in place.

ethbr1
0 replies
20h14m

Looked up the City Hall East sale, because I was curious.

Sold through the Atlanta Development Authority, in 2011, for $27M, with a portion of the paid as the development achieves milestones.

And gets a $600,000/yr expense off the city's books.

I walked through the entire empty building during the sale... and could definitely say there needed to be a LOT of renovation (including structural) before it was usable.

Also, apparently holes between 12' ceiling floors were acceptable safety practices when it was built. No OSHA!

https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2011/08/01/city-hall-east-to-b...

easyas124
1 replies
1d3h

Every single American city has this to one degree or another, even if it's just "hey, my brother owns a landscaping business and can mow city hall...". But a Byzantine government structure and a "fuck you, got mine" attitude baked into the national ethos will do that.

datadrivenangel
0 replies
1d3h

Oh yeah. Atlanta is not unique in that regard. Great city.

vkou
0 replies
1d

Local politics is at the perfect junction where it's rarely held under an inquisitor's microscope, and a few developers/small businesses stand to benefit massively from any corruption.

For bonus points, their elections are often staggered separately from state and federal elections, which suppresses voter interest and turnout.

You get what the system is designed to produce.

bombcar
0 replies
19h42m

I've noticed that things are lot better when it's actual city officials who are not overworked vs contractors; our little city owns the street sweepers and the road repair equipment and the tree equipment and the snowplows, and it's basically the same group of guys doing all that at different times, and it works pretty well.

xyst
0 replies
1d2h

Sounds great until your vac get clogged with used hypodermic needles. Good luck cleaning that without getting pricked

doublerabbit
0 replies
1d2h

Already exist, I looked at one to pick up cig butts when I go on my nightly litter picker walks.

Sadly they're unpractical and only last around 30mins ~

Cthulhu_
0 replies
1d3h

This makes me complain to the local county and tell them they should allocate more of my tax money to maintaining public spaces.

duxup
35 replies
1d4h

I really like stories of individual folks out there making the world a better place. A motivated individual with some level of exposure to the problem / solution often seems so much more efficient than other solutions.

There's a local group that helps folks find stolen bikes:

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/your-bike-just-got-stolen-these-...

mtmail
12 replies
1d3h

Online I saw a guy with a power washer cleaning hate-speech graffiti for free (e.g. swastikas in the US). I don't think he does it for fame or clicks but even if it's a net positive.

bluGill
5 replies
1d

Is it? I know of one case where someone cleaned some graffiti - but they didn't realize that there was priceless art under that graffiti and their cleaning also destroyed the priceless art. If experts had been called in they could found and used the proper solvent and saved the art. (often this means work a couple square cm at a time)

ssklash
1 replies
1d

I don't think we need to call in experts to decide if we need to save swastika graffiti and other hate speech.

JohnMakin
0 replies
1d

They were saying there could be art under the hate speech.. not that the hate speech was art..

ornornor
0 replies
7h21m

How often is that the case though? I don’t think it should be an excuse to do nothing about it on the one in a million chance there is priceless artwork under. I’m also skeptical about how priceless it was if it was on a street wall just like that. Unique, beloved, commissioned etc I totally see it but priceless?

dmd
0 replies
1d

That's going to be my kids' new excuse whenever I ask them to do any cleaning whatsoever. WHAT IF THERE'S PRICELESS ART UNDER THIS PILE OF LAUNDRY!? BETTER CALL IN THE EXPERTS!

crtasm
0 replies
16h55m

Who knew the art was there? If it's priceless maybe they could have put a notice up?

chrisBob
4 replies
1d3h

I don't understand the "even if" comment. This is the one benefit of these social platforms. If the attention really motivates people to do something good, then have at it!

onemoresoop
2 replies
1d1h

Be careful with the attention seeking as an incentive. People could stage all kind of things just to get the attention they crave or monetize.

thefaux
1 replies
1d1h

yes, see the cobra effect.

neocritter
0 replies
1d3h

One of my favorite YouTube channels uses the fame and funding to take on dog grooming jobs no one else is able to, or is able to devote enough time and detail to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OkGk2YRSnw

There's also an explosion of channels where professional landscapers and pressure washers do the occasional free job on a house in desperate need while recording it for YouTube. It's great background TV and likely more effective than any kind of paid advertising.

FireBeyond
0 replies
20h11m

"WIIFM".

I volunteered at an animal shelter that was not no-kill, because of sheer demand, sadly.

Of new volunteers, they ask "What's in it for you?"

Inevitably, "I get to help animals find new homes, etc."

However they'd say "No - that's what you'll do here. But what do you get out of it?"

And they wanted selfish answers. "I feel better about myself", whatever.

Because what they'd found is when things were a struggle, it was the "what's in it for me" that often pushed people to keep helping and volunteering, rather than (solely) "the mission".

smm11
7 replies
1d1h

I spent a summer 'rescuing' stolen bikes from (mostly homeless) chopshops and under-bridge/in desert settlements, and only found one or two of more than 50 former bike owners who wanted their property back. The risk to me was too great, and I had dozens of high-dollar, spraypainted, butchered former nice bikes stuffed into my garage.

Never again.

wolverine876
2 replies
1d

only found one or two of more than 50 former bike owners who wanted their property back

Why didn't they want their bicycles?

smm11
0 replies
23h58m

Insurance settlements and the hassle of fixing what were basically trashed bikes. Yes, I realized I was in possession of stolen property after a time. I also went through a few baseball bats.

saagarjha
0 replies
16h25m

I assume if you’ve already bought a new bike getting your old one back is somewhat of a hassle.

sandworm101
1 replies
1d

> The risk to me was too great, and I had dozens of high-dollar, spraypainted, butchered former nice bikes stuffed into my garage.

Possession of stolen property is still a serious crime. There is generally no exemption for vigilante people returning stolen goods. I honestly would not advise amassing stolen property in your garage no matter your good intentions. Batman wears a mask for a reason.

crooked-v
0 replies
22h33m

I feel like that giant penny has to be over the line of felony possession of stolen goods just by itself, right?

duxup
0 replies
1d1h

The more vigilante side of things, gotta be careful too.

I have no problem telling / hoping someone would pickup the trash they saw and helped out even if a little. But not so much retrieving stolen bikes, those folks, their call.

RecycledEle
0 replies
3h5m

Did you ever "rescue" a bike only to learn that you had taken it from someone who legally owned it (or thought they legally owned it) and really needed it?

ericmcer
5 replies
1d

How much do you think it would cost the city to implement something like this themselves? It would probably involve hiring 2-3 bike riders, a manager, some people to oversee/analyze the efficacy of the program, an approved supply chain using approved vendors. They could probably get a couple bikes with magnets on them riding around the city for < 3m year.

munificent
1 replies
1d

Well, the better approach at city scale is to use actual street sweepers.

Magnets don't pick up broken glass.

cameron_b
0 replies
15h7m

I’m the article he pivoted from the magnets and used the publicity he got from the story to overfund a bike-attached sweeper of a type previously shared on HN

scrose
0 replies
21h29m

The city would extend a no-bid contract to run a 6-month pilot in a 3 block radius.

It’d go to a random company that never did anything related to trash pick up, but one of the board members would be loosely related to the mayor.

The mayor will then do a victory lap in front of journalists talking about this revolutionary project.

The winner would then sub-contract a series of shell companies to handle ‘planning the design and implementation’ of the vehicle used to pick up the debris.

3 months will pass and the first community board meeting about the pilot in the neighborhood will happen, where the project will hit vicious opposition from people citing gentrification, how this pilot will rip apart the fabric of the neighborhood, cause gridlock, be dangerous for kids (What if a kid runs infront of the magnet bike??), etc…

6 months and $5M later, the pilot gets extended and another $50M worth of funding having never picked up an ounce of trash.

Hello from NYC

mistermann
0 replies
18h26m

China (or many other countries) on the other hand...

HeyLaughingBoy
0 replies
1d

If your point is that it costs less to have someone do something for free than to hire and supervise workers to do the same task, I don't think that's particularly insightful!

toomuchtodo
4 replies
1d2h

“I like to randomly do things to help when nobody’s looking,” Benigno said. “I’ll do just random stuff to help improve things that will benefit random people that I’ve never met before … it’s just so that I can do a little thing to fix something so somebody doesn’t suffer down the road.”

We need all of this we can get.

munificent
2 replies
1d

We also need all of this we can give.

So many people are unhappy these days because they feel they aren't doing anything that meaningfully helps their community. We're a social species. We thrive when we feel we are helping our tribe thrive.

jstarfish
0 replies
15h40m

A huge part of this is that people who are willing to do so don't know how/where to offer it. Not everyone has an entrepreneurial spirit or the ambition of a trailblazer.

Today, I jump-started a car for a sketchy couple in rough shape at the end of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere that I encountered after making a wrong turn. Forensic Files episodes often start this way, but I still stopped to help.

To be happy, I recommend looking at what the media pushes and doing the exact opposite. No matter what it is. Even when you're wrong, you'll be right often enough to negate the losses.

Sob story about ___? The subjects are always going to prove to be criminals or assholes. Avoid them.

Be afraid of these people! They're probably being put upon and desperately need your help.

Don't be afraid of these people! They just want to scam you.

#believewomen! Don't.

jajko
0 replies
1d

Any parent knows darn well that giving is so much better for the giver than just receiving

dfxm12
0 replies
22h13m

It frustrates me to see people in my neighborhood complain about minor things on local social media, but do nothing about it or even go out of their way to make things worse (like complaining about trash on the sidewalk on an especially windy day, or walking their dog on the high school football field instead of the dog park, which is two blocks (!!) further, for example). It feels like it is hard to get people to to extend common courtesy towards their neighbors, let alone do something good for someone they think they'll never run into.

NotSammyHagar
0 replies
21h36m

thanks for posting, that was strangely a great and positive example of what we can all do.

bsder
0 replies
23h55m

It's nice that individuals can do things like clean the streets ...

But how about we actually fund street sweeping at a level that this isn't necessary?

Jun8
27 replies
1d1h

Oh man, this really strikes home for me:

Last month we had to shell out close to $1k to replace all four tires when a large (>10cm) nail punctured one. Costco guy said you had to change all of them, I didn't't believe him but after research found out that if you have some mileage on your tires, you can't just change one (actually there was mentioned of reducing the grooves of the new tire to match the old ones but that sounded error prone).

We need a magnet man for all big cities!

sandworm101
8 replies
1d

> After research found out that if you have some mileage on your tires, you can't just change one

You go played by the mechanic. Even if the tread depth thing was an issue, you could have swapped out two rather than four. Unless you are racing, your car will be fine with slightly different treads rear and front. The reality is that most cars are like that anyway. Fronts often wear more than rears these days. So unless you are rotating your tires every month, tread depths will be different no matter what you do.

legitster
6 replies
1d

If OP has an AWD the mechanic has to swap out all four.

sandworm101
5 replies
23h56m

The AWD argument is one of those things that sounds logical but really isn't. Lots of AWD vehicles, I would say most AWD vehicles, are driving around with slightly different sized tired front-to-rear. Fronts just wear faster than rears. So within a few miles even a brand new car will have slightly smaller fronts than rear. The diff will be fine.

Think of this scenario. What happens when someone sits in the back seat of a car? That compresses the rear tires slightly, imparting a slightly a different radius. Many cars will ask you to increase rear PSI to compensate, but nobody ever does. Are diffs failing for this? Nope. AWD cars and trucks manage carrying a random number of rear passengers just fine without any adjustment to tire radii.

legitster
2 replies
23h2m

I am not an expert on the sorts of computer chicanery that goes into AWD systems. But there is quite a big difference between the normal discrepancies that happen while driving and throwing in one or two brand new tires. Especially given that AWDs are already supposed to account for things like wheel slippage and power distribution.

Besides, regardless if it's a myth - doing it will void your warranty, it's a requirement in every AWD service manual, and any tire guy caught doing it will be held liable if your diff blows up later. No mechanic or tire shop will agree to swapping out just two.

sandworm101
1 replies
22h50m

Everything voids warranties. If you are driving a new car, ie one still under warrantee, then you have to do whatever they want you to do. But there are lots of little myths about fixing cars, stuff leveraged by mechanics. Telling people that a diff will "blow" should the tires be 0.1% different in size is one of those myths. The entire purpose of a diff is to allow wheels to turn at different rates, hence the name differential. Only when you are getting towards differences enough to trigger anti-slip mechanisms during normal driving would it become an issue.

The manual probably also says that aftermarket oil/air filters will void warrantees, or that changing your own brake pads is dangerous. Total bunk.

legitster
0 replies
21h51m

Most AWDs use a central diff for all four wheels. It's for distributing different amounts of torque front and back. It's not quite the same as a 2WD or 4WD differential(s) that only handle left/right. It's not at all the same as just a big open differential. A central diff compensating for front/back distribution while also handling a constant mismatched load on one side is definitely going to mess it up.

If it's your car feel free to try it and tell me if you get a bunch of dash lights from your AWD computer.

The manual probably also says that aftermarket oil/air filters will void warrantees, or that changing your own brake pads is dangerous.

If your manual actually says this I will eat my hat. It's literally illegal in the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson%E2%80%93Moss_Warranty...

creato
0 replies
21h39m

Such cars also have rotating the tires as part of the maintenance schedule. If you rotate the tires, I don't think the difference in size will be significant.

Think of this scenario. What happens when someone sits in the back seat of a car? That compresses the rear tires slightly, imparting a slightly a different radius.

The tire radius changes, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the rate at which the axle turns relative to distance covered, and I doubt that changes significantly with loading.

KennyBlanken
0 replies
22h41m

If you have a true full-time AWD vehicle such as a Subaru or Audi with longitudinal engine, then mismatched tire wear will cause increased wear and tear on the center differential, which is expensive and difficult to get to. This is especially true if the differential is limited-slip.

If you have a torsen or similar FWD car that only engages the rear wheels when slip is detected (most Audis with transverse mounted engines, VWs, etc), then you're fine.

Tire diameter in passenger cars does not change with loading.

lsllc
0 replies
14h10m

Definitely got played. Unless your daily driver is a train and you only go in straight lines, it won't matter about differences in the tire circumference. Every time you turn the steering wheel (even a little, let alone make a turn) all 4 wheels are rotating at different speeds anyway -- it's why we need differentials!

An AWD has an additional center diff or transfer case that allows the combined rotation of the front (trans)axle and rear axle to be different (because unless you are steering dead straight on a flat non-cambered road they will always be slightly different).

A 4WD doesn't have that center diff and you have to manually engage 4WD to use it (that difference between 4WD and AWD). You will get transmission wind-up if drive in 4WD in anything other than a straight line on a normal road surface -- fine in the mud or snow because the wheels will slip easily enough to reduce the windup.

In fact if you get really stuck, you want a diff-lock or limited slip diff so you can prevent the power going all to one wheel (or two in an AWD/4WD config).

It's a myth used to sell more tires.

onemoresoop
4 replies
1d1h

Does replacing only two tires on each side not work in this case?

bluGill
3 replies
1d

You want to replace fronts or rears at the same time, not sides.

onemoresoop
2 replies
1d

Could you please explain why is that?

legitster
0 replies
1d

The suspension of the car is designed to distribute weight to make the car ride evenly. Even small diameter differences across your car might send the weight to one side. Best case you prematurely wear the tires. Worse case it creates unsafe handling characteristics when turning.

In contrast the regularly tilts forwards and back, and little changes back and forth don't affect steering.

BoorishBears
0 replies
1d

Front tires have matching functionality, back tires have matching functionality, regardless of drivetrain. You don't want differing capacity for the same function (steering, braking, or acceleration) on the left and right side or the car will pull to one side.

bongodongobob
4 replies
1d1h

That's only true for AWD. Otherwise it's 2. Also, consider buying used for a fraction of the price. Plenty of cars with good tires end up in junkyards. I've never bought new tires.

bluGill
3 replies
1d

If you do not have free labor and time used tires are not worth it. You don't save much money and you have to replace them sooner which means even more time of yours spent.

Used tires make sense for used car dealers where they have the equipment and can tell a mechanic to do this "when you have otherwise free time". In that case you can replace worn out tires with only half used tires and since you won't see the car again you don't lose anything. (nobody would buy the car with worn out tires so you have to replace them, but saving money on the replacement is a good idea)

legitster
1 replies
1d

You have no idea what you are talking about. Look up used tire shops in your city.

To OP's point, most of the used tires are nearly brand new tires that are getting tossed out because 1 of the set had a flat. So I am rolling on $300 Hanook tires with 95% of their tread life, and I only paid $50 a tire (including install).

These are also mom & pop businesses that are actively preventing waste.

I made the switch to used tires and have never looked back.

bombcar
0 replies
19h38m

Used tires are great, especially if you're in a city of almost any moderate size or larger.

If you're in a small town, the hassle of finding the right size may be enough to make the new tires worth it.

Either way, you can almost always find a "free install" somewhere.

bongodongobob
0 replies
21h14m

You're just wrong all around here.

kurthr
2 replies
1d1h

Unless you have a lot of wear on your tires, or you're driving an AWD, it's unusual to need to replace more than 2 tires.

The argument on AWD is that it might cause more expensive increased wear on the AWD system in off-road conditions. If you're only driving on roads this probably isn't such a big deal, and some sports cars don't even have the same size tires front/back.

Most nails and screws (1/8" or 3mm) in the middle of the tire can be patched (if you're not driving >100mph), but that was one BIG nail! Side walls really can't be safely patched, and most places won't patch anything even close.

whaleofatw2022
0 replies
23h52m

Above is semi dependent on the AWD system.

If it is one of the 'typical' ones you see on something like a Ford Escape or Chevy Blazer where it activates on slippage, you are probably OK on normal roads as long as the wear isn't extreme.

But if it's something with a 50/50 default split or other 'always on' fanciness, tires are cheaper than Diffs.

HeyLaughingBoy
0 replies
1d

I heard a loud clicking noise while driving to work one day and pulled over to check. Had an "eggbeater-type" mixer sticking out of my tire sidewall.

Shop asked if they could have it for their countertop display of weird stuff they pulled out of tires.

Anyway, they recommended replacing both front tires, but I only did the one and it was fine. I understand the reasoning, I just don't agree with it because tires simply don't wear at the same rate.

Der_Einzige
1 replies
20h36m

So, I straight up don't get how this works but there's a tire shop called "discount tire" which "insures" tires for such a nominal fee that I couldn't believe it. I've gone through three sets of tires now for a price of approximately ~40$ each set (the new sets keep insurance). This is for a Lexus. That tire shop has to have lost a whole lot of money on my car, but they have no issues with this policy at all.

Did I just get extremely lucky? Is this the norm? Tires seem really expensive but somehow I'm not paying the fees and my tires are good quality goodyears too.

bombcar
0 replies
19h35m

Many places "insure" the tire to a certain amount depending on road wear.

Most people forget about the "tire insurance" and never claim, even if they could, so it's basically free money.

They give you new tires because it doesn't cost them anything, they get paid.

Discount considers it part of their marketing, so they actually have a pretty decent one: https://www.discounttire.com/customer-service/certificates

It IS limited to 3 years.

xeromal
0 replies
1d1h

You can avoid this by having a full-sized spare and rotating it in during your tire rotations. It's what I do so if one goes to shit, you still have 4 even ones left. If you never have a failure, you get much better mileage because one of your tires always gets to rest.

wtracy
0 replies
1d

The last time I had to replace four tires at once, the mechanic could no longer source the model of tire that my car had, and refused to mix tire models on my car.

nradov
0 replies
1d

You can just change one tire, but you need to shave the tread down to match the depth of the others or else it will damage the drive train (mismatched rotation speeds). This is particularly important for AWD vehicles due to wear on the differentials.

Costco doesn't offer that service. But you can order a shaved replacement from Tire Rack and they'll ship it to a local shop for installation. This works fine but takes a few days so it's only practical if you can leave the vehicle parked.

https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/can-tires-be-shaved-...

btbuildem
15 replies
1d4h

Not to sound like an armchair road-debris-cleaner but.. Wouldn't it be much better to have the magnet contraption in the front of the bike, so you can bravely delve into the most metal-shard-infested areas without fear of puncturing your own tires?

duxup
7 replies
1d3h

Pulling on something with a bike seems significantly easier than pushing.

I think the rate of tire puncturing is low enough that you wouldn't bother changing the design.

dylan604
2 replies
1d1h

this is one of those lessons from high school physics that has always stuck with me. taking the forces involved in pushing and pulling and breaking them down into vectors, pushing is always physically more expensive

EnigmaFlare
1 replies
13h8m

Huh? How does that work? Certainly doesn't generalize to all vehicles.

dylan604
0 replies
2h39m

When breaking down the vectors of a pushing force, one of them is always applying pressure into the ground while the vectors of pulling are always away from the ground.

doubled112
2 replies
1d3h

Plus if something goes wrong on a bike, you want it to go wrong behind you.

What happens when the rear wheel locks up? Not much

What happens if the front wheel locks up? If it catches you off guard, you're launched face first into pavement.

whycome
1 replies
1d1h

And a front wheel failure would mean you launch into the 'metal contraption' ahead of you.

doubled112
0 replies
1d1h

It's just helping break your fall.

wolverine876
0 replies
23h6m

I think the rate of tire puncturing is low enough that you wouldn't bother changing the design.

Generally it's low, but in this case you are purposely steering toward the debris. Usually you avoid it if you see it.

PM_me_your_math
3 replies
1d4h

Pushing a trailer doesn't really work. You'd need an apparatus big enough to hold magnets and FOD, and allow you to steer unobstructed. A purpose built vehicle with a cab-over design would be easier to control.

Cthulhu_
1 replies
1d3h

Dutch cargo bikes / bakfietsen want a word.

That said, those are a lot higher off the ground; the video shows the sweepers are only an inch or so over the ground. If something catches, it's more likely to just make the cart buck instead of sending the driver.

Source: am Dutch, rode into a rock once, that was pretty bad.

loeg
0 replies
1d2h

A dutch cargo bike still has the front wheel in front of the load, too -- vulnerable to any sharp objects that the magnets haven't picked up yet.

dylan604
0 replies
1d1h

Breaking down the word "trailer" pretty implies that it will be something behind. Attempting to use the word trailer for something that is in front just seems like an extreme abuse of the word

mrob
0 replies
1d3h

You can get highly puncture-resistant bicycle tires, e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Plus, which can survive riding over thumb tacks. They're heavy, but if you're already pulling a heavy magnet you probably won't mind.

_iv
0 replies
1d3h

The design is mostly limited by what can be built on a budget from off-the-shelf components. Additionally, the magnets plus accumulated scrap metal look pretty heavy- anything far enough in front of the wheel base would change the center of mass in a poor direction.

IncreasePosts
0 replies
1d1h

No, it would be much more difficult to control. You can buy kevlar tire liner to reduce the likelihood of punctures though.

stuaxo
11 replies
1d3h

"..Atlanta does quarterly street sweeping.." this stood out.

Is that the normal amount. In the UK I see sweepers around, I guess maybe it takes that long to get around or do we just sweep more in other countries ?

EDIT: I looked up my area in London https://www.southwark.gov.uk/street-care/litter-on-streets-a...

  Most residential roads in the borough receive a litter- picking service every other day and are manually swept once every 5 weeks. Busy areas, such as retail areas, have a daily presence to make sure they're kept clean and litter free.
I know US infrastructure is worse, but this is to quite a ridiculous level - the amount of damage everyone is paying for, for their cars is insane.

Mountain_Skies
1 replies
1d3h

The City of Atlanta, like many (most?) urban governments, can't do simple tasks at a reasonable cost. It spent $27 million on a pedestrian bridge over a surface road and during the primary justification for it, the Super Bowl, wasn't even used.

https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/1/29/18201457/super-bowl-lii...

Around the same time, a nearby suburban county only spent $10 million for a pedestrian and road bridge over a heavily used Interstate highway to get fans from parking areas to their stadium.

bombcar
0 replies
19h28m

According to that article, it was used exactly for what it was intended for - to allow the privileged to stay away from the horrible urban masses.

sf_rob
0 replies
1d3h

At a glance London has 4x the population density. Atlanta, like most US cities, is sprawling. I would think this would make street cleaning less economical (although not to the degree of quarterly sweepings).

Dense US cities, such as SF and NYC, have more regular sweepings.

seneca
0 replies
1d3h

I know US infrastructure is worse, but this is to quite a ridiculous level - the amount of damage everyone is paying for, for their cars is insane.

It's not this bad everywhere. Atlanta is a notoriously corrupt and poorly run city.

rootusrootus
0 replies
1d2h

I know US infrastructure is worse

You know what you hear online, you mean.

rconti
0 replies
1d3h

My silicon valley residential area is swept twice a month. But I'm not sure more major multi-lane arterials are ever swept. At least, not during daylight hours.

lsllc
0 replies
14h0m

Boston MA is twice a month (depending on the neighborhood, usually something like the 2nd and 4th Wednesday, but only usually one side of the street, the other side would be 1st and 3rd) from April 1 to Nov 30. Signs are posted, but usually 6am-8am and it's a tow zone for that period! so don't leave your car parked on that side or they WILL tow it.

ericmcer
0 replies
1d

The amount of street sweeping is directly correlated with how much they can make ticketing cars that are parked in street sweeping zones. In San Francisco they sweep the streets daily and throw $70-80 tickets to any car caught during sweeping time. Does the street accumulate enough garbage in 24 hours to warrant another sweeping? Irrelevant.

duxup
0 replies
1d3h

US infrastructure

The state of infrastructure greatly depends on where you are in the US.

duffyjp
0 replies
1d3h

Madison WI checking in. We get two passes in March then monthly until winter. I checked our city website and the volume of debris was pretty surprising to me:

In 2023, 6,633.46 tons of debris was swept from the roads and hauled to the Dane County Landfill.
aquaticsunset
0 replies
1d3h

NYC street sweeping is once or twice a week, for the most part.

My (my much smaller, car dependent city) is annually.

notatoad
8 replies
21h21m

And while Atlanta does quarterly street sweeping

i don't really know what a normal street sweeping schedule is, but this seems kinda infrequent? i know my town does a big sweep in the spring after the snow melts, but it seems like most of the major routes and all of downtown is on more like a weekly to monthly basis.

midnitewarrior
2 replies
18h0m

I visited Barcelona 15 years ago, they cleaned the streets every morning.

saagarjha
0 replies
16h22m

Is this a normal thing or just in cities where tourists are likely to visit?

notatoad
0 replies
16h41m

that's kind of what i'd expect to be necessary for any big city - which atlanta definitely qualifies as to me.

sexy_seedbox
0 replies
18h9m

Daily in Hong Kong

ornornor
0 replies
7h18m

Weekly or twice a month (depending on the season) for all streets and sidewalks here.

hammock
0 replies
20h19m

Monthly in Chicago. Between apr-oct. Frequency needed probably depends on how many trees you have

culopatin
0 replies
20h26m

Weekly where I am.

goda90
6 replies
1d3h

Why doesn't the city run street sweepers on these roads?

yborg
2 replies
1d1h

Doesn't solve the problem, just pushes the stuff into the curbs where it then is a concentrated threat to bike tires. What they should do is mount a big electromagnet on the back of the sweeper to then pick any metal up.

goda90
0 replies
1d

The sweepers I'm familiar with sweep the debris under the machine and then into a holding space. Does that not work with this kind of debris?

BatFastard
0 replies
1d

Street sweepers actually do pick up the debris, not just deposit it in the gutter. At least here in Atlanta they do.

TrueGeek
2 replies
1d3h

The article mentions that Atlanta runs sweeps quarterly. This is only inside the city though. I live outside the city (25 to 90 minutes depending on traffic) and we don't get any sweeping. The intersection outside our neighborhood gets about an accident a week and it's just constantly filled with glass and, occasionally, bumpers. The tow truck drivers are normally kind enough to sweep it to the side but that isn't great for cyclists. Everyone drives SUVs here and their tires are big enough that glass doesn't matter so no one is going to agree to pay for sweepers.

Cthulhu_
1 replies
1d3h

And that's just off to the side, it'll accumulate and / or spread from there.

When I visited the US and its highways, I was surprised to see how much things like exploded truck tires were littering the sides of the road.

sokoloff
0 replies
1d3h

Drive in the south in the summertime and the "road gators" (truck tire remnants) are often in the middle of travel lanes.

rrauenza
4 replies
1d1h

Whenever I see a screw or nail in the street or parking lot, I always pick it up and naively hope that karma will prevent my tire from picking up one in another location.

bluGill
2 replies
1d

I figure it costs $10 to repair a tire. So I saved someone $10 every time I do this. Sometimes that someone is me.

lostlogin
1 replies
14h45m

With tubeless tyres, a decent puncture costs you a tyre, so you may be saving someone a lot more than $10.

hughesjj
0 replies
9h17m

Yup. Tire plugs are not a permanent fix

Symbiote
0 replies
1d

I pick up empty bottles and put them in the nearest glass bin. There are glass bins on both corners approaching my apartment, so I don't even need to walk out of my way to do this.

Most of them would probably stay for a few days until someone cleans the street, but it only takes one unhappy drunk to knock a bottle into the street.

I probably look like a terminal alcoholic to my neighbours.

limaoscarjuliet
3 replies
1d1h

He is saving our bike tires rather, as he seems to ride the shoulder more than the car lanes (and rightly so).

I live in Atlanta, ride both car and bicycle and do not have flat tire more often than average. Perhaps thanks to his help!

lostlogin
0 replies
14h46m

A nice bike tyre makes such a difference to bike speed, but puncture resistant models seems generally slower. I love my Continental Grand Prix 5000s but they aren’t cheap and are easy to puncture.

bombcar
0 replies
19h52m

Most roadside debris is on the shoulder as it gets knocked there pretty quickly out of traffic lanes - and it can still affect the cars if you have to cross them.

Every time I've had a flat caused by a road item it has been on or very near the shoulder.

AtlasBarfed
0 replies
16h8m

I wonder if he picks up any interesting coins. Too bad silver/gold isn't probably magnetic enough.

bluGill
3 replies
1d4h

I normally figure scrap iron goes for about $.35/lb. So he has collected about $150 worth of scrap so far. Not a bad pay off for getting your daily exercise. Too bad magnets cannot collect aluminum or copper - both are more valuable.

He donated his collection to a scrap artist (probably a worthy cause though that depends on your subjective opinion on the art produced), so he doesn't get the money, but it is still fun to figure out the value of his work.

no_wizard
1 replies
1d3h

The value is helping the community, first and foremost, isn't it?

The computed dollar value is pale by comparison. We should talk more about this community value IMO

bluGill
0 replies
1d

There is more than one value. I talked about two of them, but that doesn't mean those are the only two. That just means that are the only two that I feel like I can contribute anything to the discussion of in one topic. Technically I probably should have written two posts so that discussion of the art created and the scrap value of his collection can be talked about separately.

RandomBacon
0 replies
1d4h

the value of his work

That he could cash out on. The greater value is all the time in people's lives that would have been wasted from damaged tires: fixing or replacing the tire, time spent to earn money to fix or replace the tire, the time people would have spent in traffic trying to get around the disabled vehicles, etc.

Cthulhu_
1 replies
1d3h

The exact image and thing is mentioned in the article.

LazyMans
0 replies
23h59m

We don't read articles here! Just the comments!

ASalazarMX
1 replies
1d

Benigno is a common name, and also has the same meaning, in Spanish. What a perfect aptonym.

staplung
0 replies
17h11m

Maybe it's nominative determinism. ;-)

secstate
2 replies
23h38m

The last line in the article jumped out at me: “A lot of folks … they’re kind of DIY-ing it until we can get the level of public service that we really need.”

I am through "A Paradise Built in Hell" right now, and that, combined with having spent 6 years in a (small) town leadership position makes me appreciate the unfortunate consequences of thought like that last line.

It feels like leaning hard into capitalist democracy rather than socialist democracy. The idea that things don't get done unless someone gets off their butt, puts a line item in the budget and makes sure someone is getting paid to do it not because they want to but because their compensation is adequate is destined to fail in really unfortunate ways.

Part of the book referenced above is all about the failure of the "organized" parts of government in times of crisis. It turns out, most people in community want things to be better, but learning that the "city" or "county" will do it for you if you just pay your taxes kind of neuters the impulse to be a part of your community. Instead of cleaning up the road side, people end up with book clubs or art committees, because someone's getting paid $12/hr to clean up the road for you. It's not a great look, and has disastrous consequences when things go really bad.

jollyllama
1 replies
22h58m

Yes and what's going on there is that the official is uncomfortable because the failure of government is being exposed by guys like Magnet Man. They're so petty and feckless that they can't cooperate with him, or deputize him in some way.

secstate
0 replies
22h6m

Having been a public official your adjectives for the public official in this case made my hackles go up for a moment, but you're also absolutely right. The hidden assumption in those sorts of statements is that it's all good for volunteers to try to help, but one day "authorized" people will be able to do that work, but only if we are allowed to raise your taxes. Sigh.

The problem is, not all bureaucrats are evil, but all bureaucracy begins at neutral and tends towards evil, so there's a sad inevitability involved. And my hackles went up because even I, who consider myself pretty self-aware, ended up in some horrible conversations where I know I preferred the town having authority over something volunteers had historically done. We are all part-nazi, some of us just have more authority.

dredmorbius
2 replies
15h33m

The story discusses, and dismisses, the option of incorporating magnetic sweeping into regular street-sweeping operations, though I find the argument unconvincing.

If your goal is to pick up loose ferrous material (much of which incidentally turns out to be dust, some of which is apparently meteoric in origin), you don't need magnets which are capable of yoinking a manhole cover or sewer grating out of the ground. An array of magnets, periodically wiped into the normal trash flow, should do the trick. (This is a case where electromagnets rather than fixed magnets are probably superior.) A fancy-pants solution might use GPS and GIS to note locations of known ferrous infrastructure (grates and the like), though it seems to me that simply by tuning the magnet's strength and reach it should be possible to, say, lift a few grams of nails or tacks, whilst leaving the 100kg+ covers and grates in place.

(There are a few smaller utility openings, though I suspect those are rare, as street furniture generally needs to Not Move whilst being trampled by autos, lorries, busses, etc.)

This is of course aside from Atlanta's apparently quite stingy sweeping schedule, another matter.

ornornor
1 replies
7h15m

I wonder if the problem is that it would lift grates up or rather pull the trailer down/crushing the wheels or just immobilizing the bike from the attraction to the grates while not being able to lift them up.

dredmorbius
0 replies
6h6m

Magnets incorporated into a traditional street-sweeping truck shouldn't be bothered by street fixtures, unlike a on a bicycle. I can see how the bicycle approach might experience challenges, but even there I think the problem isn't particularly severe.

Switchable electromagnets which could automatically sense a large ferrous object (e.g., grates, covers) and deactivate or reduce strength over them might be another option.

A filtered reply to my earlier comment argues that electromagnets are "massive with generators". This ... is seriously misguided. Electromagnets can be tiny, you'll find them in small motors (electric toothbrush, the haptic vibrator in your mobile device). Given extant electric capabilities of a streetsweeper, a modest grid/array of magnets would be trivial to implement.

bjornlouser
2 replies
1d1h

"Nearly every day, Benigno bikes about 10 miles and picks up around six pounds of debris — about the max the magnets can carry. Over the course of eight weeks, he collected over 410 pounds of metal..."

ajb
1 replies
22h12m

Yeah that stood out to me too. What the heck is dropping all this stuff?

Round here if you put any sizeable metal (like a radiator or something) out front of your house someone will collect it to take for scrap. So if there were that amount of metal on the roads they would be keen to attach magnets to their vans. Although if it needs a large number of high quality magnets to do the job, it might not be economic for them.

JKCalhoun
0 replies
22h7m

I've watched trash just blow off of trash trucks, bounce out of trailers.

You'd think there would be better enforcement of having to have a tarp, etc. for open trailers that are carrying junk.

beavis000
2 replies
23h26m

The author David Sedaris is apparently a compulsive trash picker-upper. He's said he has walked for up to 9 hours per days picking up garbage on the side of the road all the while. His town in the UK named a garbage truck after him, and he was invited to meet the Queen of England because of it (she used to meet with people who performed large amounts of community service).

rockostrich
1 replies
22h4m

His stories about some of the things he encountered on these walks are pretty funny. Can't wait for the next installment of his memoirs.

knodi123
0 replies
17h52m

Yeah, considering how much inspiration he got from it, I bet he could legitimately deduct the costs from his taxes!

newsclues
1 replies
1d

I would love for local bike shops to build these and let people use them.

StarlaAtNight
0 replies
1d

Any tech folks here want to help people that do this collect data on how much they get and where from? Zero clue how useful that would be, but it would certainly be interesting

charlescearl
1 replies
19h50m

The bitter irony of Georgia attorney general filing RICO charges against forest defenders for the act of “mutual aid”. This is what mutual aid is - a community actively working together to address the neglect of the state.

zerohm
0 replies
1d4h

His IG is a pretty interesting follow (@atlantamagnetman) as he has briefly explained the various iterations and improvements to his magnet cart.

ornornor
0 replies
7h26m

For now, it’s up to individuals to keep the streets clean.

Nice.

mschuster91
0 replies
1d

Nearly every day, Benigno bikes about 10 miles and picks up around six pounds of debris — about the max the magnets can carry.

As an European, this left me a bit shocked. Where is that debris even coming from? Shoddily "maintained" vehicles? Insecure loads? And why are there no sweeper trucks sweeping the streets and bike lanes?

lostlogin
0 replies
14h40m

Atlanta’s transportation department budget was cut by 12% last year. She said that about $50 million is three times less than peer cities.

Can’t they say ‘it’s one third the budget of comparable cities’? Is that what ‘three times less’ means?

gadders
0 replies
1d3h

What a good dude.

foolinaround
0 replies
1d2h

Kudos to the Magnet man!!

if that magnet cart design could be open-sourced, then it might be updated or made cheaper by others, and used in other places too!

einpoklum
0 replies
1d1h

Most important point in that story AFAIAC:

Atlanta’s transportation department budget was cut by 12% last year. ... about $50 million is three times less than peer cities.

sad.

WarOnPrivacy
0 replies
1d4h

Just yesterday I used picking up screws as an example of how kindness is an underrated exercise in efficiency.

A minuscule effort up front avoids disproportionately larger effort later.

OliverJones
0 replies
3h26m

This is great.

I wish it worked with glass :-) :-)

I sometimes sweep up broken glass from bike lanes in my community. I need gloves, a broom, a dustpan, and a trash bag. Not as efficient. Needs a car, not a bike.

JKCalhoun
0 replies
22h9m

Loved the video. I was getting some Katamari Damacy vibes from all those bolts and such glomming onto his magnets.