Littering is considered a "nasty side-effect of our convenience oriented culture." It's very common for people to take their wrappers, bags, and refuse from their unit-by-unit product consumption and callously toss them aside on roads, sidewalks, in parks and on beaches without so much as a second thought. The worst part is that so many people do it; almost everyone litters or has littered a decent amount in their lifetime. We all know we've done that thing where you wait until nobody is looking and then push a gum wrapper or receipt out of your pocket so it looks like it just "fell out." Why? Because it's convenient and you don't have to go and find a trash can.
Most developed countries in the world today, primarily and especially America, thrive and love convenience. America is a country that has been accused of having products with packaging that costs more to produce than the product itself, where disposable cups, Styrofoam boxes, individual wrapping and plastic utensils reign supreme. Our spoiled rotten culture is hurting the environment because we don’t like washing dishes and would rather buy in bulk than take a trip to the bakery. Recycling has gained popularity in recent years, but not enough so as to make a significant dent on the amount of waste produced by the country annually. As long as people are obsessed with the bare minimum required of them, litter will most likely continue to be a problem. Most people can’t even be bothered to hold onto their trash until a proper receptacle can be found…their trash ends up on the ground, for all to see.
An insignificant consequence of littering that seems to garner a lot more attention than it needs to is the fact that littering creates an eyesore. When an area is covered with garbage, it’s unpleasant to look at. The simple fact that this consequence is one of the first things that come to mind when people hear the word ‘litter’ is a testament to the negativity of our convenience oriented culture: it’s ‘inconvenient’ to look at it.
A much more important effect of littering is the many ways in which it affects the environment and individual ecosystems. Discarded cigarette butts decay slowly over the course of more than a decade, all the while leeching toxic substances like lead and arsenic into the water and soil. Plastic containers can have often bizarre and unexpected effects on animals (like the nefarious “duckling in a soda ring” scenario). Rusty, discarded aluminum cans can cuts things that brush past them, causing disease in both animals and humans.
Aside from the aforementioned impacts of littering, litter can have a significant impact on faraway ecosystems. Wind and rainfall can carry trash and toxins from one area to another, entering rivers, oceans, and other environments. Litter, and large amounts of it, can collect in one area, creating problems for the animals that live there. A great example of this is the pacific trash vortex, an area in the pacific ocean when tons upon tons of human garbage has clumped together in the middle of the ocean and is starting to have negative effects on marine life and birds. Litter is also costly to state and local governments – California spends over twenty-eight million dollars a year cleaning up litter from their cities and forests.
So what can be done about this problem? Is there anything already being done? There’s a lot we can improve on in our culture of convenience. There are a few volunteer organizations that spend time and effort cleaning up highways, parks, forests, roadways, and the like, and while that helps, it’s almost an exercise in futility because of the scale difference between how much trash is thrown out versus how much is picked up. To make a real impact and a real change, and to solve this problem, everyone must work together. Companies should use only biodegradable packaging. Junkyard items should be recycled. People need to eat, drink, and live in moderation. If all this happens, we might be able to avert this problem before it turns into something worse.
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