How do you react when you see litter?
I’m like many people. Most of the time I think, “I didn’t make that trash, I shouldn’t have to pick it up.”
Well, then who should? Should the person who dropped his trash be required to come back and pick it up later?
More importantly, How frequently do you litter without intent or knowledge?
I recall once leaving behind a freshly purchased coffee (in a paper cup) at a bus stop, and many occasions of a gusty wind stripping receipts and tissues from my bag.
One rainy day I saw a DPW Street Worker, bagging up the shards of a broken old TV. He was braving the freezing downpour that signifies San Francisco’s winter. It was morning – I suppose he had more streets to clean before his day was done. It’s his job to go out when it’s raining, and collect the crap that people leave behind. I took his work for granted until the day I saw him.
Litter stays until someone picks it up.
I’m thinking about litter today because I read a post by Jennifer Mo of Not Easy To Be Green. She shattered my weak excuses for leaving litter on the ground.
It really boils down to this: Who’s keeping score of responsibility?
No one.
We are interconnected. We are one.
When it comes to the neighborhood, responsibility is collective. There is no I, you, me. We are in this thing together. I make trash, you make trash. Sometimes I forget to throw mine away. Sometimes I don’t even know I made trash. In the end, it’s really just about keeping a healthy and clean neighborhood.
It’s time to dissolve those silly excuses away. If I want clean streets, then it’s my responsibility to help keep it clean. We’ve only got one patch of land to live on, and only one planet for 7 billion people.
I won’t be able to pick up every single piece of litter I see, but I’ve got a general plan to help me ease into a new ‘normal’ for litter-picking in public. Trash can nearby? I’ll pick up a few pieces and toss them. Cigarette butts? I’ll toss those. Plastic crap on top of a garbage can? Easy, I can do it.
But picking it up every single time I see litter? I can’t do that just yet. So I’ve got a general timeline, in case I falter and fail to toss litter: once a week, I must throw away at least a few pieces of litter that I see near a garbage can. I don’t have to stick strictly to this schedule, but if I’m feeling extra crazy, it gives me room to breathe.
Do you pick up litter? Why or why not?
Photo by Smabs Sputzer
I’m glad that post spoke to you. I can’t bring myself to pick up litter every time I see it, even now, but I think your at-least-a-few-times-a-week resolution is a nice middle ground. My mind is still gnawing on the problem of seeing responsibility as individual. I hope it will turn into a post soon!
Thanks for writing it! Yea, I can’t bring myself to pick up every piece of litter either. It’s just too much work! Looking forward to the bigger version.
Hi Lynn,
Love the post! I think it is our duty to do our share to help protect our planet. If I see a piece of trash in the street, I feel a twinge of guilt when I don’t pick it up. So, I do try to pick up now and then if something catches my eye, but most of the time it is because I feel guilty if I don’t.
Hi Rachel, thanks for stopping by. I feel guilty too if I don’t pick it up, and guilt is definitely a motivating factor for me to actually toss it. But on my off days the guilt isn’t as strong.
As I mentioned when Jennifer originally wrote about this issue, I often find myself picking up water bottles on public transit. Not only is this a fairly un-icky thing to do (compared to door handles, water bottles only have one person’s germs on them), it means I can recycle the bottle – as a cynic, I doubt that the transit staff bother to sort recyclables from trash, despite the fact that all subway stations are equipped with bottles/cans vs. paper vs. trash bins!
Another perk to picking up trash: it sets a great example.
Hi Andrea, that sounds like a great idea. I too doubt whether staff really sort recyclables from trash. I visited the transfer station in SF, aka dump, and they said about 1/3 of what makes it to the landfill is compostable materials, and 1/3 is recyclable. It’s a little disappointing to think about.
I hope picking up litter in public will make others who see think about it at least a tiny bit more. I know seeing others do it has made me think about myself.
You and Jennifer inspired me! I picked up 3 used coffee cups today on my way to work and threw them in the trash.
Andrea – what do you know, they were ALL from THAT CHAIN that you wrote about a while ago. Grrrr!
That’s great! I’ve been picking up litter at least every other day this past week, seeing that it’s really not a difficult task. It’s great to see that we’ve been motivating each other to be better
This post is awesome. Actually, I really want to pick up litter whenever I see it but rarely think to bring along a bag with me to do so. So I’ll definitely be doing that from now on
I also agree about the personal responsibility issue but don’t really see a way to rectify that situation unless we start Big Brothering (read: video cameras) our way through life, and that is NOT something I want any more than it already is increasingly being done.
It’s kind of like the climate talks and the garbage in the ocean with everyone pointing the finger at everyone else until some country just stands up and says “We’ll do it! Can you guys give us a hand? In the meantime, we’ll set up measurements of our country’s CO2 outputs and ocean patrols to see who’s responsible so we can divide duties accordingly in the future.”
Thanks, Kim! Good for you on bringing a bag! I’m not yet ready to bag the litter I see, so I’m sticking with litter near trash cans.
You’re right, there’s little we can do to rectify the personal responsibility issue. That’s why I think we should see it as a collective responsibility. On the issue of litter, we can all pitch in to throw some away.
I pick up trash near water, for whatever reason. Beaches, rivers, the little stream in the middle of Berkeley’s beautiful campus…anyplace that the beauty of nature is particularly apparent…the mark of man mars it. *shrug*
Then I think–Oh, I picked this up to put in a landfill instead.
Good for you! Yes, trash is particularly apparent in natural settings. I’ve seen plenty of beer cans and potato chip bags off the hiking trails. I’ll pick them up now when I see them.
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As I kid, I used to go on walks with the specific intention of picking up litter around my neighborhood and recycling it. I’ve fallen off that wagon as I’ve gotten older, but I’ve always felt it was important to do more than my share to protect the planet since most people do less. One piece of litter a week sounds totally reasonable. I have a new goal.
That’s great! I hope once a week works out for you!
Dear Lynn, this brought tears to my eyes. I LOVE it. Good for you. I never use a purse but always carry one of those book packs on my back. In it I keep a plastic bad (which I use over and over) to put trash in that I see on the trail, on the sidewalk, on the street, wherever. I LOVE your idea of picking up so much each week. You are beautiful and deeply caring. THAT humbles me. I am tweeting this post and putting it on facebook. It is worthy of so much more. Thank you and hugs, Robin
Thanks so much Robin! Your kind words are so powerful. You are amazing for bringing a dedicated litter bag with you. I will keep your words in mind and try to work my way there. Thank you for sharing this post!
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Love this! Yes I do pick up rubbish and here in Catalunya there is enough to keep me going all week if I want the job.
Something changed for me reading this post – I realise I pick up but with a grumbling ‘oh why can’t people be more responsible?’ sort of attitude and so i don’t really feel happy to be doing it.
So, from now on I will just accept that this is one thing I can do and I don’t feel too icky about germs and I like to care for the beach and the countryside and the little sunny plaça outside our house so, i will do it and SMILE.
And if people see me picking up lots of litter then maybe it will make some of them think a little more!
Also…..I too have thought of writing about this but never got round to it…..why can’t councils (ayuntamientos here in Spain) place some of those wonderful singing litter bins around towns. You know there was an experiment and special bins with interesting noises were put in a park and when someone dropped something in it would sing, or burp, or say thank you! Of course everyone wanted to play with it so they all went around finding litter to put in! Great idea.
lovely blog – so interesting – have a lovely day
Kate
LOL! That is a hilarious story, thank you for sharing it. Singing litter bins – we could certainly use that in Los Angeles! There is so much trash and litter in Hollywood, it is really overwhelming. I wanted to pick up everything when I first got here, but it’s not 100% my responsibility, so I do what I can and stay happy with that. Thanks for stopping by!
i think nobody should not litter because it not good for the city
Today i picked up liter using a grabber and 2 plastic grocery bags. then i found another plastic bag floating in the river. then i had 3 bags full. my arm got tired carrying the heavy bags home but it was worth it. it was fun, a sort of hunt for hector only trash and getting it in the bag without using my hands. i hope the people who saw me are inspired to do it too. blessed are those who pitch in and pitch out some one else trash. ps i live in michigan
Thank you for posting this article. I have become more conscientious about picking up litter. I can’t stand seeing litter in my neighborhood or in the local city park. I wish more people would get involved. Better still, I wish people would throw their trash in a trash can rather than on the ground. We all have this one planet to share. We need to take care of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1kkx2m-JSg&feature=related