Ald. Flores Receives One too Many Professional Cleaning Fliers

By Timmy Watson in News on Jan 20, 2007 6:53PM

We were recently going through, what we like to call, the take-out drawer of shame and realized we multiple copies of almost every menu we could possibly order from. Not to mention the fact that rubber bands and tiny plastic bags line our hall. Well, on January 9th the License and Consumer Protection Agency considered changes by Alderman Flores, 1st, and Alderman Rugai, 19th, which would crack down on the companies and those they hire for irresponsible distribution.

The crux of the ordinance is that those caught distributing fliers in any other way than hand-to-hand could receive a penalty of $200-$1000. The two most common ways of distribution, fliers on cars and door handles would most likely be the main culprit.

One of the issues other alderman see with the ordinance is the likelihood that the Department of Streets and Sanitation could handle the entire city. Another issue is the layering of the distribution. Who do crack down on, the restaurant owners or the advertising printers that the restaurants hire? We think that is a pretty easy question to answer, but in a lot of instances the offending company could easily hide behind the advertising company or the specific individual that puts them on the doors.

We are a little torn on the subject, but we almost feel the ordinance is necessary to reduce the litter problem it creates. However, everyone could do their part by not throwing the rubber bands and fliers on the ground in the first place. We have definitely used some of the fliers we've gotten, what do you think? Should they stay or should they go?