Mondays Matter: Week 34

Taken from the book Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways to Make A Difference by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza.

PICK UP LITTER

-Common litter includes cigarette butts, plastic bags, paper, candy wrappers, fast-food packages, bottle caps, 6-pack can holders, glass bottles and plastic straws: equal to about 180 million tons of trash per year.

-People under age 15 are least likely to litter; people under the age of 25 are most likely to litter when in a group; people over age 25 are most likely to litter when alone.

People litter because they:

-Don’t think of the item as litter (ex. cigarette butts).

-View litter removal as someone else’s responsibility.

-Lack knowledge about the environmental effects of their littering.

ACTION STEPS

1. Spend 1 hour today picking up litter. Or decide that every time you see a piece of litter today, you’ll pick it up and throw it away.

2. If you see someone litter, politely ask them to pick it up. Or pick it up yourself and maybe the person who dropped it will see you and get the hint.

3. Organize a team of neighbors, friends, co-workers, or fellow church members to pick up litter in a specific neighborhood for an hour. Bring rubber gloves and garbage bags and make it more fun by turning the cleanup effort into a game/contest.

4. Enjoy making a difference, getting exercise, geting to know people better, and having cleaner surroundings.

If every person picked up just one piece of litter today, there would be over 300 million fewer pieces of litter, pick up 10 pieces there would be 3 billion fewer pieces damaging our environment. Make an impact on your community and pick up litter. Frequently when I am walking around town, I take a sack with me and pick up litter during my walk. Too often I can fill up a grocery sack just during my walk. So, grab a sack, your kids, your neighbor’s kids and take a walk around your area and pick up litter!