Whenever I see litter in a parking lot, or along a sidewalk, or just about anywhere else, I pick it up. I hate litter – and I mean hate.
I've been on an ardent anti-litter campaign for about a year now. Sometimes I Google keywords like "litter" or "trash," just to see what comes up. The word "litter" brought back lot of material about kitty litter.
Recently I found a comment from a woman whose intolerance for litter resembles my own. "I can't understand," she wrote, "why people won't stop for fifteen minutes to clean up a littered area."
Well, I can understand why. It really slows down a good walk, or a good bike ride.
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| One Day's Haul |
That's why I came up with my strategy of picking up at least some litter every time I'm out walking. Usually I pick up a lot more. There's an expression that's relevant here – something about leaving a place nicer than the way you found it.
During my walks it's easy to fill a plastic bag with litter. The bags I take are standard grocery store shopping bags. When I fill one, I feel like I've met an obligation.
By the time I'd reached the halfway point of my walk today, the bag was full. I could pass by any further litter with a clean conscience. It would probably just fall back out, anyway.
Then I came across a discarded grocery store shopping bag. So I picked it up and used it for the balance of my walk.
I completely understand where you're coming from in regards to litter. I won't let my children litter, I find it so disrespectful. We don't throw or drop our garbage anywhere.... my truck can get quite messy because of that mind set when we're out traveling but I have peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, when I have gathered all of my daycare clients to go to the bus stop to pick up the other children, we would take along big plastic bags and I would give out treats for whoever had the most filled bag when we got back to the house. Others would stare and gawk at us as we ran around, picking up trash. I didn't care though, we were setting an example. Others, mostly the older population, would have a large smile on their faces as they watched us and would offer praise and encouragement.
We need to respect the earth, our surroundings and others. Each little act of goodness sends a little ripple of hope into the Universe.
Good job on you, John.