Video of Indian Airbnb guard tossing tourist’s trash over wall gets 17 million views

A foreign tourist staying at an Airbnb in India has sparked a heated debate with a video where she was asked to throw her trash over the building wall.

A foreign tourist staying at an Airbnb in India has sparked a heated debate with a video where she was asked to throw her trash over the building wall. The video, which has gone massively viral online, has started a conversation around civic sense and waste disposal in India.

A tourist in India was asked to throw her trash over the building wall (X/@klara_sjo)

No bins at Indian Airbnb

The video shows the tourist explaining that she has not been able to find dustbins around her Airbnb accommodation. Holding two plastic bags bulging with trash, including takeout containers and disposable glasses, the woman takes the elevator down to the ground floor where she approaches the building security guard for directions to where she could dispose of the trash.

“We are in an Airbnb and we are going to ask our security where we can throw this because there are no bins anywhere,” the woman explains as she gets out of the lift and approaches the guard.

The guard asks her to throw the trash over the building wall, which the tourist refuses to do. Instead of then directing her to the nearest dustbin or garbage collection point, the guard takes the packets from her hand and throws them over the wall himself.

The identity of the tourist has not yet been determined. HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. However, the footage, reposted by popular accounts on Instagram and X, has collected millions of views.

An X account called Klara reposted the video with the caption, “Girl using an Airbnb in India and has to find a way to discard trash.” It has collected 17 million views in two days.

In the comments section, many comments veered into racism as others tried to hold a constructive dialogue about the need for better waste management in India.

“This explains so much. I was at the Oregon Coast years ago and watched an Indian family toss their garbage into a nearby stream like it was normal,” wrote one X user.

“If you are like me and have spent time in India, then you don’t find this shocking. IYKYK. It is a country that doesn’t have the ability to provide many of the basic needs that we take for granted here in the States. Trash removal is just one,” another person said.

“On the other side of the wall, someone will pick it up tomorrow and sort it. Yes it’s not a container like the west is expecting, but they do have people coming around collecting the trash,” an X user pointed out.