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LONDON - There are plenty of sights to see in Central London. Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Parliament — just to name a few.
One thing you won't see a lot of, however, is a garbage can.
Hendrick Moyes is a street cleaner with the city of Westminster in Central London. He doesn't mind it one bit if people toss their wrappers, plastic bottles, or any other trash right onto the streets — because not only does it provide job security for him, it's also security in general.
There are no garbage cans in Central London — or, at least, very few of them. The reason: Garbage cans are an easy place to hide bombs.
"It's quite a nice job," Moyes said. "I'm outside. It's better than an office job."
There are no garbage cans in Central London — or, at least, very few of them. The reason: Garbage cans are an easy place to hide bombs.
In a high profile area, with Big Ben in the background, the city doesn't want to make it easy for someone to hide an explosive devise.
Security is extremely tight in London while the Olympics are in town. Such is the case for any host city during the Olympics, which means if there's a little more trash on the sidewalks, it's no big deal to city workers.
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In Salt Lake City, taco carts along our streets are an easy way to grab a quick meal. During the Olympics in London it is quite similiar… except not the same kind of Mexican food."It's only in central London," Moyes said. "It's very, very busy; 24 hours non-stop."
For the most part, people hang on to their garbage until they can properly throw it away — but Moyes doesn't mind doing his job. Instead of thinking about all that bad stuff, he's just thankful that the sun pops out every now and then.
"Today is quite nice. Usually it's raining, but today is quite nice," said Moyes.
Costs for security during the London games have been estimated at $1.6 billion, making it the second highest ever behind Beijing in 2008. In contrast, security during Salt Lake's games cost about $500 million.
