As much time as many of us spend reading about ways to help the environment, politicizing environmental issues and looking for ways to cut our carbon footprints, I’m always shocked when people don’t do the little things that keep our world nice. For example, I’m always floored when I’m sitting at a stop light, driving on the highway or walking down the street and I see someone drop litter. Not orange peals or liquids, I mean throw the drive-thru bag out the window kind of dropping litter.
Most parents teach their children that littering is wrong, but somehow many adults have forgotten about this. That or revel in the ‘illicit’ feeling that littering gives them. Whatever it is, it needs to stop. More than that, the unintentional littering needs to be taken care of as well. Much of the litter that is picked up by street sweepers does not come from intentional littering but from trash and waste that falls out of dumpsters and trash cans. This is something everyone has a hand in, and something that recyclers frequently unwittingly add to.
Some ways to reduce your litter are:
- Make sure your trash cans and dumpsters have lids that close securely.
- Get large enough trash bags that will close completely (7th generation biodegradable ones are best) with ties
- Package recyclable papers, bottles, cans, etc. securely so that windy days won’t blow them out of the collection containers.
- Create less trash by composting and recycling everything you can, and by buying things with less packaging.
