He quickly became aware of yet another pleasant feature of the new reality: there was virtually no trash. In the old days, there was trash everywhere. Squashed cans, broken bottles, colourful balls of scrunched wrappers, grey globs of chewing gum, soggy cigarette ends—all that shit and more was virtually everywhere.
Any squashed can imprudently left in public space was immediately snatched up by newly minted mint owners. There used to be lots of those around, patrolling the sidewalks with garbage bags slung over their shoulders, eyes sweeping the terrain ahead for promising gleams of metal. An empty aluminum can weighed nearly fifteen grams. A thousand aluminum cans were worth more than ten dollars—the exact amount was determined by the effectiveness of the mint owner's smelting operation.
