Have you ever seen an animal eat the trash on the sidewalk? Some people might think littering is no big deal, but because of human carelessness and laziness littering is damaging the environment we all share. As a result, people are commonly seen actively throwing cigarette butts, food wrappers, cans, etc.… in public areas. This waste is a breeding ground for bacteria. A heavily polluted environment encourages the spread of diseases having a direct impact on public health. The simple act of tossing a piece of trash on the ground such as a cigarette or other toxic material eventually gets washed away into the storm drains and contaminates our waterways. This pollutes our groundwater and especially affects those who depend on wells for clean drinking water.
Sometimes trash is commonly mistaken for food by both sea and land animals, resulting in these animals becoming sick, and eventually killing them. According to national geographic, “There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea”. Pollution in the oceans has a direct negative impact on ecosystems.
Many actions can be taken to change awareness of this shared problem. Each member of society has a responsibility to keep the environment clean. I believe most people are aware that littering is wrong, but I think most do not take it seriously. It is true however, if only a few people litter it does not affect the environment drastically, it is when it happens on a large scale. A common assumption is that people think it is someone else’s job to clean up the mess. But this puts stress on cleanup efforts and an unnecessary burden on the taxpayers as many of these programs are taxpayer funded. 11.5 billion dollars is spent on cleaning up litter in the U.S. (Kab.org) Education and awareness are a vital step to take to help remedy the problem.
To change behavior in people, a conversation needs to take place either by someone in the community or taught through education. Promoting education of littering in schools can help address the attitudes and behaviors associated with littering that created the problem in the first place. A small behavioral change such as not overfilling the garbage bin, as trash can easily be blown away by the wind, is a small but effective change if practiced on a large scale. If everyone tried their best to dispose of trash properly this would have a positive impact on the environment and reduce pollution. Many community waste disposal programs do exist and are immensely helpful for the problem. Participating or even witnessing a community cleanup can change the way people view littering. These community efforts help people serve as role models for the community which in turn changes public attitude. Unfortunately, for those who will not listen, stricter fines can be placed upon individuals caught littering. In the state of Pennsylvania, a person who is caught littering will be fined between 100 to 300 dollars if the offense did not injure someone or damage property, and between 300 and 1000 if it did. ( PA Crimes Code, Title 18, Chapter 65, § 6501) Offering a reward for litter clean up can help motivate people to make it feel worthwhile. We all share this planet together and it pains me to see unnecessary damage to it. It can be a simple reward, such as a gift card or coupon. I believe littering can be reduced with both proper awareness and community effort.
Staff, N. (2017, November 29). Ocean Trash: 5.25 Trillion Pieces and Counting, but Big Questions Remain. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/1/150109-oceans-plastic-sea-trash-science-marine-debris/
Pennsylvania Littering and Illegal Dumping Laws. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://illegaldumpfreepa.org/pennsylvania-littering-and-illegal-dumping-laws/
Keep America Beautiful. (2020, August 25). Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://kab.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/LitterinAmerica_FactSheet_CostsofLittering.pdf
Hey there! I would agree that littering is a well-known topic worldwide, but that perhaps the education behind its harm is often overlooked/lacking, or ignored. In order to tackle the behavior following this issue it is a good idea to inform the public of littering’s damaging effects. One thing that really struck me was when I watched a documentary a few years ago about plastic rings around soda bottles. The plastic rings around soda bottles fill the ocean and then get wrapped around wildlife’s heads which cuts off their breathing and ultimately leads to death. Later it was discovered that people should cut this plastic prior to its elimination. The sad video and the fact that these animals lives could potentially lay in my hands was enough for me to want to make a difference. Our course text mentioned how we should “apply an intervention to change the behavior” (Gruman, 2017). The community clean up act that you developed upon other communal activities to improve the environment not only leads to awareness, but is subconsciously educating the public as well. That is a great idea!
References:
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-6973-0
Hello,
I enjoyed reading your post as I too am someone who wants to better our environment. It is so unfortunate that humans do not care to see the damage we are doing to the world around us. This damage does not only effect us but also the many other species that call planet Earth home. I liked where you brought up how often animals can mistake our trash for food.
Of course, it is known that plastic is incredibly harmful to animals, but just how harmful is it? “Animals eat less, obtain less energy, and weaken. Larger pieces of plastic can also block their gastrointestinal tract so that the plastic can no longer be excreted. In other cases, plastic is ground into small pieces in the stomach and then scattered everywhere,” (“What Happens”). Unfortunately, this is more common than one might think.
I agree with your opinion on how we must bring more attention to this topic. I feel as though many people are uneducated when it comes to the fine details of how humans are truly ruining our planet. Everyone knows we do things that are slightly harmful, but I think people believe that we will never “run out of a home” and that Earth will be here forever. At the rate things are going, more animals will become extinct and our environment will lose balance.
What Happens When Animals Eat Plastic. (2020, May 01). Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/plastic-problem/plastic-affect-animals/animals-eat-plastic/
Your post was both engaging and informative. When you mentioned that simple changes could have a great impact such as not overfilling the garbage can, it really put into perspective the small things we can all do to benefit the environment. Often after trash pickup in my neighborhood, there is trash left on the ground either from animals getting into cans or from loose trash falling out. I usually do my part to pick it up in spite of my husband’s dismay. I often wonder how people can see trash on the ground and not just pick it up and put it in the garbage can right nearby. (Though COVID and germs have certainly made it a little more stressful). Studies done by Robert Cialdini have been done that show surroundings have an affect on people’s choice to litter (Wagner, 2014). This is where norms come into play. If a park is full of litter, than people are more likely to litter. Cialdini suggests that firm messages against individual littering that use injunctive norms to imply disapproval, are a great tool in its reduction (Wagner, 2014). I was reminded of this when you said that each person has their own responsibility to the environment.
References
Wagner, V. (2014, August 1). Littering and following the crowd. The Atlantic.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/littering-and-following- the- crowd/374913/