Please reconsider the decision to deny the use of anti-litter slogans in the vernacular of men of the sea on the Rum Barrel Rubbish and Recycling Bins for Christiansted. Seamen, both honest and not, are as integral a part of the history of the Virgin Islands and Christiansted town as the rum barrels themselves.
Why is this important?
The original proposal for the Rum Barrel Rubbish and Recycling Bin project included the painting of anti-litter slogans in a pirate-like font and the old-style vernacular of men of the sea. A Committee member had mis-givings about the pirate-style slogans and suggested the slogans be more in the local crucian dialect. I agreed to submit some slogans in more of a local dialect for consideration and the committee agreed to research how other jurisdictions label bins in historic areas, make some suggestions, and ultimately choose 2 to 3 slogans for the barrels. I sent the committee copies of the original slogans, as well as some translated into the crucian dialect, and 5 additional slogans penned by a local crucian and a playwright. The committee's response was to reject all the slogans because they would not "maintain the dignity of the historic setting" and suggested the barrels be labeled with "TRASH BARREL" or "RUBBISH BARREL" or "RECYCLING BARREL". Which do not maintain the dignity of the historic setting any more than pirate slogans.
The original slogans we suggested for garbage bins were:
"Pitch in, not o'er th' side"
"Don't Foul th' waters Matey"
"Don't be a Tosser, Pitch in"
"Stash yer Trash here"
"Put Rubbish in er Place"
"Don't trash your town"
"Mash it, trash it, toss it in dis basket"
"Gimme yer Rubbish, Mate"
and for Recycle Bins:
"Aluminum Loot only Mate!"
Most recently we've asked them to consider 1 or 2 shortened slogans for rubbish:
"Stash yer Trash" and "Pitch In" . And for recycling bins, "Aluminum Loot Only"
