Here's the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roREnVhd_og
The only think I know about littering's American history is the "Don't mess with Texas" slogan.
The primary agency responsible for litter prevention, the Keep America Beautiful campaign, was founded in 1953. As disposable cans, cups, bottles, and other packaging became more widespread in the postwar years, so did litter, and some blamed the companies that manufactured them—in 1953, for example, Vermont passed a law banning the sale of beer in non-refillable bottles. Consequently, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Seagram's, Procter and Gamble, Dupont, Dow, and others used their influence to found Keep America Beautiful. The goal of this organization was to place the blame for littering on the consumer; they helped to introduce the word "litterbug" to the popular lexicon.
Keep America Beautiful premiered their first PSA in 1956. They took on Lady Bird Johnson as a spokesperson in 1965, followed by Lassie as spokesdog in 1967. Here are some from the 1960s that Don and Betty Draper should have taken to heart. They feature a slogan worthy of Sterling Cooper: "Every Litter Bit Hurts YOU." #1, #2. And then, of course, there's the iconic "Crying Indian" PSA from 1970.
Yes, this type of littering was common in the U.S. and you can still observe it in other countries. In the 1970s there was a decade-long campaign against littering and pollution, with TV and magazine ads and signage. The most prominent were Woodsy the Owl, and the memorable Keep America Beautiful ad with the crying native american.
There were also concerted efforts on the part of food and beverage manufacturers to cut the amount of litter. The most obvious would be the replacement of foil and styrene packaging for fast food with biodegradable paper wrappers and boxes. Also the current retained pop-top on beverage containers that replaced these pull tabs which would often get tossed on the ground. Many of these companies found that reducing their packaging and waste also reduced their costs.
The 60s were pretty much when the movement against littering took off in the USA. President Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird, was a big proponent of this. I don’t have any academic sources, but here are a couple primary sources from two movements of the time, mentioning her involvement:
Just a reminder: we are not looking for your story from back then or from another country. Anecdotal evidence is against the rules in this sub. So if you don't have any hard facts on this please refrain from commenting. Thanks.
In the same episode, the Drapers keep their car door open in order to listen to the radio, despite their car being 20 feet up an embankment. Was theft just not a concern for suburban Americans? I can't imagine leaving my door open like that today, even in my own town.
There was a similar, albeit broader, question asked some months ago on the subject of litter, here. I remember the Mad Men scene coming up there as well.
What's up with the hand check? What is it for?
