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  • People are blaming us for the litter problems.

  • Well, I won't stand for it!

  • (crowd exclaiming)

  • Hear, hear!

  • Coca-Cola is tired of making a bunch of garbage

  • and then getting yelled at for making all that garbage.

  • Philip Morris concurs.

  • When you think about it, it's the customer's fault

  • for throwing our garbage away.

  • (man) Dixie Cup agrees.

  • We'll blame the customer.

  • (man 2) I know a better word for them.

  • Litterbugs.

  • (cheering and applause)

  • And so, with the help of over 20 companies,

  • they founded the original anti-litter group,

  • Keep America Beautiful.

  • Wait, Keep America Beautiful was founded by litter companies?

  • Yep, these companies actually popularized

  • the term "litterbug"

  • and shifted the litter blame from themselves onto you.

  • And all of this culminated

  • in Keep America Beautiful's most famous ad,

  • the crying Indian.

  • No. No, not that beautiful ad.

  • I'm afraid so.

  • The most famous PSA in history

  • was actually a piece of corporate propaganda.

  • And all of this totally worked.

  • Bottle bans were struck down

  • and Americans started blaming ourselves

  • for the litter problem.

  • Eating that can didn't kill Bessie...

  • I killed Bessie!

  • I'm a litterbug!

  • And today, we're stuck with disposables,

  • and every year, over 100 billion

  • beverage containers end up wasted,

  • either in landfills or incinerators,

  • or yeah, just plain littered.

  • Now, look, I want to be clear.

  • If you litter, you're a jerk.

  • But these companies threw out an effective recycling system

  • and instead asked us to pick up their trash,

  • and their marketing campaign helped create

  • an entire green culture that blames

  • individuals for pollution

  • rather than the companies making it.

  • That's terrible.

  • Well, from now on, I'm going to stop supporting companies

  • that pollute and I'll only buy green products,

  • like my hybrid.

  • And pretty soon, I'm going electric

  • with a brand-new Tesla.

  • Wait, you already have a hybrid

  • but you're gonna buy a brand-new electric car?

  • That choice can actually hurt the environment.

  • Hurt the environment, yay!

People are blaming us for the litter problems.

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