Litter Is A Litterbug’s Fault
Litter is a bad thing. I used to not even think about the littering I did when I was younger. I know that many people do it today simply because they don’t think. Littering will continue to happen as long as those who litter don’t stop to think.
For me, it took getting caught and paying a fine, along with a stern rebuke from the officer (who was a friend of the family) who pulled me over. Suddenly, I had a complete change of outlook and that changed my behavior. And yet there are some people who want to place the blame on others, just because trash from their place of business ends up on the street. It’s just another example of shifting the blame onto someone else.
To someone who litters, putting anti-littering messages on the packaging doesn’t mean anything. There needs to be a fundamental shift in the way they think about litter.
Why not concentrate on young school kids – the younger the better. Once you convince youngsters of the importance of not littering, they will carry the message (including enforcement) to the rest of their family, much like seat belt education has greatly increased the use of seat belts. Then, implement a punishment such as spending one hour cleaning up litter for anybody caught littering plus a fine. Getting attention and changing habits is the only way to reduce litter; put total responsibility on the litterer, not the maker of the product.
Tags: environment, litter, littering, responsibility
January 13th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
“Why not concentrate on young school kids – the younger the better. Once you convince youngsters of the importance of not littering, they will carry the message (including enforcement) to the rest of their family, much like seat belt education has greatly increased the use of seat belts. Then, implement a punishment such as spending one hour cleaning up litter for anybody caught littering plus a fine. Getting attention and changing habits is the only way to reduce litter; put total responsibility on the litterer, not the maker of the product.”
Exactly! As a child it was drilled into my head that litter is bad. Even when I smoked (quit 22 and 1/2 years ago) I never threw cigarette butts on the ground because littering to me was as big a sin as murder. It all starts with children.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I live two blocks from a fast food taco place. During the summer it is common for people to park in the shade of the large tree in my front yard to eat their meal and yes, throw the trash in my yard or leave it on the street. It has never occurred to me to be upset with the taco place. Once food and packaging leaves and establishment it belongs to the consumer and it is the consumer’s reponsibility to deal with it. I think the fast food people do their best to minimize packaging while maintaining reasonable food quality and appearance. After all, this stuff costs money and we are all trying to be competitive and make a living. Are we supposed to bring our own cups and plates, so they don’t have to wrap the food? And then eat it cold when we get where we are going?