Litterbug

The dictionary defines litterbug as a person who carelessly drops litter in a public place.

We’ve got a litterbug problem.

It may even be considered an epidemic, if littering were a disease.

Looking at it does make some of us sick.

Why do we see so much trash in yards and in the streets than we did decades ago?

I look at pictures from the fifties and sixties of our neighborhoods and downtown, and the same area decades ago appears so much cleaner.

No trash to be found.

Have we just given up?

Are we really that lazy?

Part of it centers around our throwaway society.

Back in the day we reused items.

Milk and soda came in glass bottles, not cartons and cans.

Plastic became king.

Between 1969 and 2009 plastic litter increased by 165 percent.

That’s amazing.

But, I’m not convinced the increase of non-recyclable items is the heart of the problem.

I truly believe it is a people problem.

Litter attracts litter. If you see an area that is trashy, you’re much more apt to toss some more garbage on top of it.

Also, it contributes to habitual littering.

People also aren’t afraid of consequences.

They have an “I don’t care attitude.”

So, a people problem.

I can’t see that changing anytime soon.

It’s a shame, but, that’s where we’re at.

We’ll have to get them young and raise them to respect themselves and their surroundings.

If you get in a car that is owned by a twenty-something and you see a plastic bag by the console for trash, hug them close and praise them to high heaven and pray they move into your neighborhood.

Watch your step.

See you out there.