Littering: Lets Save Our World

Etymologically, litter means rubbish carelessly dropped or left about anywhere, especially in public places. Sadly, people are found littering the road or any other public place with impunity. Quite often, we see even educated people travelling in an expensive car roll down their car’s window to dump trash on the road. They do not think twice about throwing half-eaten sandwiches or throwing empty soda can which hit the car coming from behind us with its driver trying to avoid it in a dangerous way. Who cares?

Many people have an unfortunate habit of just dumping waste products at an inappropriate location. We callously drop objects such as cardboard boxes or plastic bottles at a public place and leave them there indefinitely. Household waste and even hazardous items of rubbish such as electrical appliances, electronics, batteries, and large industrial containers are dumped on public land. This way, we expect others to dispose of them as opposed to ourselves disposing of them properly. Littering has a negative impact on the environment. In fact, it has become a serious environmental issue how to counter the ill-effects of littering. We never bother to understand that it is our responsibility for not polluting the atmosphere and spreading diseases by littering.

All litter is unsightly and makes our local areas look untidy and uncared for. Litter does not clean itself away. It can take years to degrade, causing harm to wildlife and habitats. Food people drop – whether it is half-eaten burgers, chips, or apple cores - can attract pigeons and vermin such as rats.

We need to stop people from littering. To do this we must set an example. The best way you can discourage people from littering is by setting a good example. Do not throw your litter on the ground, pick up litter you see and dispose of it in the trash when you see it, and do not throw any litter out of your car. Another thing to do is recycle your items. Collect bottles, glass, plastic, newspapers, or books and take them to your local recycling center or a charity in need. Create a community drop-off site for old computers at a neighborhood school. Set up a composting program for your neighborhood or school. These solutions are so easy and so effective that we can all do our best to solve this fundamental problem. Help save our planet and our world.