btw, where are the janitors? Ok, kids are messy.
These people are paid pretty well for the type of work and I'm sorry but you won't ever convince me that its too overwhelming for them to keep sanitary conditions. Just more whining and excuses. It is their JOB to clean, they get PAID to do it. They ..LOL...APPLIED for that job. Parents, these are your children, don't allow them to be abused at school.

One of the great things about this country is that we have options. If you feel uncomfortable in a job, school, neighborhood, etc. You CAN attempt to change it, or failing that, you CAN get out of that situation. You SHOULD investigate anything that seems odd. You SHOULD never put yourself or your child in a place you don't feel is in accordance with your beliefs about what is right and wrong. The personnel at school are just people, sometimes they come up with bad ideas and unless parents speak up and in number, nothing will change. You may be treated as if you are the only one complaining....until you tell someone and they complain and then eventually when more people start to voice agreement they'll have no choice but to consider alternatives. Someone has to go first :)

I've never heard of this. Ever. I've heard of detention for Middle School age children. However I guess "if" they've littered and continued to do so this would be a great way to make them THINK TWICE. It's all about consequences it seems.

Fantastic! Your community is fortunate to have a school where they give kids an immediate and specific consequence to slacking off. Most schools let kids get away with murder on assignments, merely dinging them with meaningless magical symbols like "blue dots" or "lo-scho notices" or having their name put on a list of no significance. The child who learns that work must be done or else, is going to succeed later in life.

Is this also common with education of a child in the family setting? If kids get caught doing something wrong they are usually embarrassed anyway, but they are given a consequence that involves restitution for the infraction. That's usually what gets to them, extra work is such a drag. An example could be being given something to read and then have to write a report about it.
I'm sorry but I just don't get it. Reminds me of old school when gum chewers had the evidence of their crime stuck to the tip of their nose for the rest of the class or when naughty kids had to sit in the corner with the dunce cap on... I also remember it seemed to be always the same kids so maybe it wasn't that effective.

My son's middle school also incorporates "pick up trash" as punishment, and I don't have a problem with it (even if my son had to do it). As MagnetMom mentioned, there are kids who learn their lesson and those who don't. What kid wants their peers to see them picking up trash at school? Peer pressure alone can be mortifying to a kid.

We used to have putt-putt (pick up trash-pick up trash) duty in elementary school for infractions, and the benefit was, we didn't want to do it, so we rarely repeated the offending behavior.

In high school, however, they did flip it around a bit and if we kept the cafeteria/eating area clean, they'd give us a little extra lunchtime on Fridays (maybe 10-15 minutes).

I guess I don't find it all that offensive. I find punishment of all kinds annoying, but some kids don't listen after repeated warnings (and I've had one of each kind of kid--the type to comply and the type that required repeated threats and eventual punishment).

If you have concerns, I'd seriously suggest you talk to the administration (the AP or dean in charge of discipline) and ask why the policy exists.