As I was driving my mother south toward the Pennsylvania
border last week to visit her brother, she did something that stunned me. She
reached down and grabbed a handful of trash – a paper cup, used tissues, and
some candy wrappers – that had gathered at her feet. Then she rolled down the
passenger window and flung it out.
A kaleidoscope of garbage appeared in the rear-view mirror.
I shot her one of those “I can’t believe you did that” looks because my near
80- year-old mother has always supported efforts to protect the environment and
endangered animals.
Doesn’t that begin with not littering?
Public service campaigns against littering began in the 1950’s, and by the
1970’s,
“Don’t be a litterbug” had become a moral response to a national disgrace.
The “Keep America Beautiful” ad campaign was enormously successful in changing
public attitudes about littering. To be seen littering was to be déclassé.
But the campaign drew criticism after it was made public that the iconic
“Crying Indian” ad featured an actor who wasn’t a Native American. Iron Eyes
Cody was actually an Italian actor. The revelation seemed to weaken the
campaign.
Concerns about litter today, judging from our roadways and intersections,
must seem quaint. Still, the research on littering is interesting. For instance, 51
billion pieces of litter land on US roadways yearly, and annual cleanup costs
for litter nationally top $11 billion. People are more likely to throw litter
on top of other litter rather than spoil a clean area. And younger people,
especially those who drive and consume fast food, are among the country’s worst
littering offenders.
And according to studies by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources,
a plastic jug takes 1 million years to decompose. An aluminum can will take 200 years, and a paper bag will
take a month.
My mother didn’t see the irony of her NatureValley granola bar wrapper
decomposing in a valley for the next 45 years, but she took the teasing well.
“You busted me,” she said.
This article appears in Jul 18-24, 2012.
Littering is a far more serious problem than people acknowledge. As it grows, the environment continues to suffer. The smart action is to not litter. In our Litter Prevention Program that’s what we teach. Free website and newsletter help educate and change behavior. Visit http://www.litterpreventionprogram.com/new… for daily world news on litter and littering. Find out why the call for cooperation has grown louder and easy things you can do to help.
Whenever I see the guys around my neighborhood carrying those huge bags of cans around to return them, I always think, “What if they could bring garbage to somewhere and get paid?” Returning garbage and getting paid by the pound would clean up the streets and provide some much-needed income.