My greatest pet peeve is when someone throws trash and litters! A litterbug is defined as a person who carelessly drops litter in a public place.
All sorts of people drop litter, and there are many reasons given as to why this might be. People have all sorts of theories as to what would stop people from littering. And people also have all sorts of excuses for littering… Here are some of the reasons people give:
- They can’t be bothered or are too lazy to find a bin
- They have no sense of pride in their community
- There is a lack of education / poor parenting of young people
- If an area is already dirty, why bother to look for a bin?
- People don’t appreciate the consequences of littering
- We live in throwaway society with a ‘snack culture’ and too much packaging
- It’s not cool to use a bin
- Litter keeps someone in a job
- People aren’t aware that some items are litter eg food, cigarette ends, chewing gum
- It’s OK to litter if no one can see you!
- It’s OK to litter if you are drunk!
- There aren’t enough bins
- The bins are in the wrong place
- The bins aren’t emptied often enough
- The bins aren’t big enough
- The bins are not suitable for disposing of dog mess or cigarette ends
- The bins are dirty
- There aren’t enough fines for littering
- One person can’t make a difference
- It’s rebellious and anti-authoritarian to litter (is it?)
- Fast food outlets don’t care about the litter associated with them
- Everybody does it!
- The Council aren’t doing their job properly
- There are much worse things in the world to worry about than litter.
How many of these reasons or excuses have you heard?
Littering is harmful and has many long-lasting effects:
- Litter in the streets and parks can travel through storm drains to bays and oceans, where it harms wildlife
- Litter costs money. Removing litter is usually tax expense..
- It is a threat to Public Health by attracting rats and other rodents and is a breeding ground for bacteria.
- Litter can be a fire hazard.
- It looks bad, and can affect the value of your home and business.
- It can affect local economy, especially in tourist locations.
- Litter breeds other litter. Sending out the message that people don’t care.
- It can harm or kill wildlife.
- It harms our waterways.
- Litter is demoralizing and disgusting.
Litter is everyone’s problem. Prescott Creeks facilitates the Granite Creek Cleanup striving to be a solution. We know this cleanup would not be accomplished without your help. Please be an active participant to keep our community litter free. Stop the litterbugs!