Don't Be Mean, Keep ___ Clean
Karen Hawes
This past week has been short but sweet. We were at the island of Bequia, a place near and dear to my step-mother Janelle’s heart (and my dad’s too). It was wonderful to return and see everyone that I could! Norton and I even got in an interview at the semi-landfill (a term aptly coined by the semi-landfill manager there).
As we’ve seen at all of the islands and pretty much any place on earth that isn’t populated with the uber-wealthy, there was litter. The uber-wealthy can afford to pay others to pick up the place and, if I were uber-wealthy, I probably would too. As we have seen on nearly every island, there are anti-littering campaigns, including education and penalties. But, regardless of any and all efforts (here and everywhere), there is still litter.
So, why do you think people litter and how might we be able to reduce or <gasp> perhaps even stop littering?
When I’ve asked this question, it usually comes down to “people are lazy” and “impose fines.” Sometimes I hear, “it’s not the people who grew up here who are littering, it’s the people who moved here from elsewhere who are littering.” In other words, “it’s them, not us.” However, how can one determine who is in the “them” and the “us” categories? Well, that’s another can of worms I don’t care to open just yet.
There is a tidbit of truth to this, there are groups people who abhor litter and cannot litter; they will go to the ends of the earth, with a bag of trash in one hand, searching for the “right place” to put it. Then, there are those who don’t seem to have the ability in them to carry an empty beer can out of a state park; a can which they themselves had brought in with them, full and weighty. One would think it was a lot more difficult to bring it to the park, full of beer or soda; but, once it is emptied, it’s just plain impossible to carry it a second longer! Just go out on a Sunday afternoon, to parks everywhere, and you’ll see proof of this odd twist to physics – empty cans are heavier than full cans (except in Michigan, where the return-for-deposit is $0.10 per can). Hmm…
The same goes for any convenience-food containers or wrappers. I would put money on it that the majority of litter, by individual items counted, would be comprised of food-related containers; from bottles and cups, to to-go containers and single-serving bags. One could suppose that the food or beverage within the container renders the consumer unable to hold onto the container once it is emptied… probably because the food or drink in question is likely to be crap anyway. Garbage in, garbage out, eh?
If people don’t care enough about how they care for the single most important thing in the world (their body) then why should they be expected to care much about anything else in the world? This makes littering make sense, unfortunately.
So, how do we stop people from littering? Perhaps by starting with improving people’s self-esteem and that’s a can of worms worth looking into opening.
