Littering Awareness Begins with doing Your Part. There are many organizations concerned with littering. However, common people, like you and me, are the ones who need a call to action. 

Our planet will not survive forever due to the laws of nature, which is something we cannot control; We can allow Earth to live healthy by controlling pollution and littering to the best of our abilities. 

Recycling, as simple as it sounds, is a great way of contributing to the regulation of pollution. 

In this article, we will discuss The Litter Project, soil regulation, and raising general awareness. To point out, These are  just a few of the ways to inspire people to help stop littering now. 

We’re in This Together

Neighborhoods, school districts, vacation sites, highways, etc., are all suffering from littering. People are throwing trash outside of their vehicles and next to a trash can instead of inside of it because it is convenient; sure, it’s easier to dump trash anywhere but by doing so litterbugs affect everyone. 

Future generations should be granted the gift of a healthy, beautiful planet that will not be harmed in ways that can be controlled. Beautiful vacation sites are blemished because not enough people are taking care of their own trash. When did it become expected for others to clean up after us in public places? Perhaps, because when we go out to eat at restaurants, we assume it is the workers’ job to pick up the trash? 

This type of thinking puts individuals in the mindset that they do not have to throw away their own trash. “It’s someone else’s job” is an ideology that needs to be explored. Are we accidentally creating generations of lazy people? 

Pick Up One Piece a Day

One basic manner our parents tried to instill was to throw away our trash. Numerous studies, such as the Field and Laboratory Studies of Littering (Krauss, Freedman, & Whitcup, 1978), showed younger adults litter more than older adults. Is this because older adults understand the long-term ramifications of littering? How can we help younger generations understand the long-lasting effects of trash in the environment?

Even though there are fines and street signs posted on roads stating “no littering,” and “thank you for not littering,” it still happens. Take a drive anywhere and look to the sides of the road. What do you see? Trash, trash, and more trash. That said, establishments such as the Litter Project, which is a 100% zero-prophet, private organization helps spread awareness through the media. In other words, Their mission is to simply inspire people to pick up one piece of trash a day. “Over 60% of the people who hear about this will find themselves picking up trash within a few weeks. The idea is simple and catchy… and works!” Also, If you agree with their mission, you can donate to help continue their great work on this important subject (The Litter Project, 2020)! Littering Awareness Begins!

The Domino Effect

The bad habit of littering causes soil, water, and air pollution. Would you want to drink water that contains rotting materials? The answer is likely “no,” but many around the world have to drink contaminated water to survive. 

Firstly, The most common way for us to prevent and end the littering pandemic is by properly throwing away trash to better regulate the domino effect of pollution and contamination. With this in mind, By throwing away our trash we are preventing toxic chemicals that runoff into the soil and damage the ecosystem. According to Environmental Conscience (Andreas, 2020), littering is most commonly caused by simple laziness. Surely, If we can help preserve our planet, homes, and family safety why wouldn’t we? Though Is laziness really humanity’s downfall? 

It’s not entirely a people issue either. Water and air pollution are large issues that companies have been working on for decades. For example, it is harder to stop the burning of coal and the dumping of waste than it is to ask the people to be clean and be aware. We have to start somewhere, and it starts with common people like you and me.

Final Thoughts

The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness of littering and encourage everyone to make a difference. We need to break this harmful habit now. Whether this article inspires you personally to stop littering or to pick up one piece of trash that’s close to a trash can, you can encourage others to help end this very easy problem to solve. Take to social media, join community events, and take personal action to spread awareness and make a change for the good of tomorrow.

End littering now! 

Share your opinions on your favorite social channel and join the conversation at #SoulSpeakTV. Show us where Littering Awareness Begins by #litterawerenss

References

The Litter Project. (2020). Mission. Retrieved from http://www.litterproject.com/mission/

Krauss, R., Freedman, J., & Whitcup, M. (1978, January). Field and Laboratory Studies of Littering. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022103178900641

Bryson, B. (2020). Littering: Causes, Effects & Solutions. Retrieved from  https://environmental-conscience.com/causes-effects-solutions-for-littering/