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.