A foreign tourist’s video from an Airbnb property in India has touched a nerve online. It is exposing not just the country’s uneven trash disposal systems, but also the deep divide in how locals and visitors perceive civic norms.
Trash Disposal At Airbnb In India Went Viral
Girl using an Airbnb in India and has to find a way to discard trash. pic.twitter.com/S5giE2RuAC
— Klara (@klara_sjo) August 2, 2025
In the widely circulated video, an Airbnb guest appears visibly perplexed as she stands in an elevator holding a bulging bag of trash. “We are in an Airbnb and going to ask our security where we can throw this because there are no bins anywhere,” she says. Moments later, on the ground floor, the security guard instructs her to toss the garbage over the compound wall. She refuses and he takes the bags from her hands, and does it anyway.
The 15-second video, re-shared by several viral aggregator accounts including one named Klara on X (formerly Twitter), clocked 17 million views within 48 hours. With its grainy vertical frame and the casual rhythm of mobile narration, it might have passed as just another cultural curiosity. But it struck a chord.
Netizens Have Mixed Reactions
Comments flooded in. “Just posting this for any Indians coming to complain in my comments,” Klara herself wrote, preemptively defensive. Another user, more bluntly pointed out: “Is this really how they do it? Just throw the sh*t wherever. So gross.”
As the Airbnb video gained traction, the conversation quickly split down ideological lines. There were accusations of performative outrage, of racism, of double standards. Several questioned whether the clip was even genuine. “Clearly a staged video. Congrats on your engagement farming,” one wrote.
Others demanded evidence: “If this really happened, post the Airbnb listing and your review. I bet you can’t.” Defenders of the system pointed to India’s informal but functional waste economy, one where collection doesn’t always look like Western municipal services, but happens nonetheless. “On the other side of the wall, someone will pick it up and sort it,” a commenter explained.
What’s real and deeply resonant in this video is the conversation it triggered about infrastructure gaps, accountability in hospitality platforms like Airbnb, and the ease with which cultural narratives spiral into judgment online. Whether or not this was a setup, the discomfort the casual throwing of trash brought wasn’t fictional.
Cover Image Courtesy: klara_sjo/X
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