The combined scent of insect repellent, sun screen and munitions is especially aromatic at 12:30 in the morning. There I stood – a place where minutes earlier thousands had observed bright lights ruling the skies synchronized to modern melodies and broadcast throughout our fair city during an event called Celebrate Freedom – a community outreach sponsored by Harvest Church. The hanging smoke left an eerie scene as the portable light poles broadcast luminance throughout the breadth of the park.
Fast forward a few hours of abhorrent sleep and now I’m back at the park; full day-light and ready to put this event to rest. Gathered with a handful of post-event volunteers, we set out with trash bags to pick up the remains left by the crowd the day before. I wondered what was going through the mind of the metal detector jockey watching me gather scattered debris as I watched her intently searching for anything as slight as a coin bearing the image of Abraham Lincoln.
Take a long look at this picture. Imagine, if you can, how this water bottle was forced into this shape. Imagine the energy it took to manipulate the molecules in this plastic for it to remain in this condition long after the handler’s will was exacted upon it. Now, imagine where I found this bottle; thoughtlessly discarded thirty-feet from a red recycle bin and forty-feet from a faithful black trash can.
All this trash picking has left me thinking about the human condition. Why do people litter? Are people really that lazy? Is it accidental? Or do they just not care? My friend Duffy offers the infractors the benefit of thinking it’s mostly accidental. Maybe; because 94% of people polled think that littering is an important environmental issue.
We live in a plastic convenience culture; virtually every human being on this planet uses plastic materials directly and indirectly every single day. Our children begin life on earth by using some 210 milion pounds of plastic diaper liners each year. We give them plastic milk bottles, plastic toys, and buy their food in plastic jars, paying with plastic credit/debit cards.
Every year we eat and drink from some thirty-four billion newly manufactured bottles and containers. We patronize fast food restaurants and buy products that consume another fourteen billion pounds of plastic. In total, our Nation produces an estimated sixty billion tons of plastic material every year. Each of us, on average, uses 190 pounds of plastic annually: bottled water, fast food packaging, furniture, syringes, computers and CD’s, DVD’s, packing materials, garbage bags and so much more.
When you consider that this plastic does not biodegrade and remains in our ecosystems permanently, we are looking at an incredibly high volume of accumulated plastic trash that has been building up since the 1950’s.
The truth is, we all know about the problem. Now its time to act on it. But if you already do have proper and responsible waste disposal habits, remember that you can make a difference by encouraging others to follow your example. When we dispose of our garbage properly, instead of polluting our environment, it does more than just help keep our locale neat and tidy – it makes you feel like you’re making a difference.
georgeburgin.com 
Personal references omitted: I love your article. I have always been very disturbed by littering. To me… it is pure laziness and disregard for our earth and the human race. To me, those who litter have to be very self-centered… not to be thinking about others, who will view their garbage, and what their garbage is doing to the earth and the beauty of our land. I would rather throw garbage on the floor of my car and take it to the trash bin when I arrive home… then throw it out the window. We make a point of taking a shopping bag (grocery bags that everyone gets at Walmart, etc) with us to collect our garbage… even something as small as a gum wrapper. My daughter, granddaughter, and I walked down Main Street in the Heights last week. I was amazed at the garbage along the way. Especially cigarette butts. Cigarette butts are NOT biodegradable! Please read… http://www.cigarettelitter.org/index.asp?PageName=Smokers
How about this one…he who is without garbage shall chuck the first chunk! I guess if I had to answer that question, I’d have to look into my self. why did I do it? What compelled me to? That’s really a 10 million dollar question. Imagine if I had the real answer. The possibilities! So many are making small fortunes by collectiong garbage and recycling. You see it mostly in urban areas. But I still have seen utter disgust along rivers and lakes in the inner cities, where you’d think that people would appreciate their natural habitats, since there’s not as much to share.
It’s gotta be the spur of the moment. I’m thinking that it was the convenience factor…besides, when that burger wrapper hits that fence, it’ll have a lot of freinds and won’t be lonely! And it gives somebody else something to do. Then I wake up and realize that it was just another dream. Dreaming good takes work. I guess thats why I littered in the 1st place. One thing I do know now is that I litter less in the winter because I have more pockets.
Looking back when I used to litter, I think it was the hate factor that made me do it. Could probably count the times I littered on one had in the past 10 yrs. Guess I love this world now. And everyone on it. That’s a good thing.
Peace, brothers and sisters!