Just a Piece of Trash
One specific issue that I’ve struggled to grasp is the fact that people discard their trash onto our environment. Littering is an improper way of dumping garbage into our environment that finds its way into locations where its effect is much more drastic. Especially with the movement that has been made for recycling across the globe, it seems as if there are trashcans at every turn. This is not only degrading to our society but also harmful to the places we call home and our national landmarks. There are multiple ways to go about solving this issue and being more eco-friendly. A national approach would require the people that live in the United States to educate themselves and regulate their disposal of trash. On the other hand, globally would speak to everyone who lives on Earth and how we could make it a safer environment for future generations. It’s hard to enforce worldwide rules against littering, but changes need to be made because of the effects it will have on future generations. To start, focusing on United States law and improving the regulations against littering would be easier than creating global fixes. In the United States, we already have some laws put into practice to avoid this problem, however, law enforcement is not overseeing the conditions and people continue to disregard the government. Littering not only affects our streets and how they look but also floods the oceans with unwanted toxins for marine and human life. Limited progress has been made in this respect, however, the community is starting to open its eyes towards the bigger problem littering is creating. Littering is a worldwide issue that has harmful effects on our environment and the organisms that live here. Controlling litter on a national scale would be more achievable in the United States because we can educate people. Its easier to deal with the disposal of trash with the changes that have are being made and preserving the beauty of these communities.
When thinking about this issue on a global or national scale, it would be hard to govern littering laws in their entirety. Many states have implemented fines towards guilty litterers’, yet still, this hasn’t seemed to make progress. Law enforcement hasn’t put forth the right initiative to govern these laws and civilians are continuing to get away with their litter habits. But movements across the United States have already taken place. Recycling initiatives and the increase of trashcans have populated in the United States are some examples of progress. Whereas around the world, laws haven’t been created to control the spread of littering because of the area they have to cover. It’s very difficult for a worldwide law to pass through because of the lengths the bill must pass to be ratified and enforced. The smaller national scale provides more governance over these regions that can implement littering regulations. On top of that, passing a law nationally requires far less work and is a lot more achievable because all the states function under one government. In the United States, a lot of the same plastic goods are used everywhere. Therefore, implementing laws would be far less difficult because most states have the same problems with littering.
One of the main reasons I’d want to inform the community about littering would be to preserve nature’s beauty around the United States. Here in California, it’s home to the nation’s most visited national parks. It hurts the environment and is a shame for tourists to see these national landmarks filled with disposable trash. National parks are being flooded with the trash that harms the environment and takes away from its natural beauty. Polluting these lands will affect the economy because of the volume of tourists yearly. Nationally, we must do better in this context. Thus making national laws regarding the preservation of these national parks will be easier to achieve because of the tools and education we have here in the United States. Improving the quality of life and these landmarks is important because of the unhygienic environment that litter brings us.
A big part of the movement to create littering regulations is for saving the oceans. This is a problem not only in the United States but also worldwide. The waters become polluted from the improperly disposed trash. The litter entering our oceans affects the environment and marine life becomes endangered. The toxins that are present in the plastic we feed to the ocean are digested by these animals. And because marine life is a food source for humans, it moves up the food chain and is harmful to us. Creating national laws makes more sense because of the regulations on international waters. All bodies of water are used differently, but nationally we can agree that the preservation of life is of the utmost importance. The economy of marines is severely affected by littering thus educating the people would be the next step to preservation.
The increase in recycling has been urgent nationally. Changes and progress have been made here to properly dispose of plastic products. The same can’t be said globally, we are still using excessive amounts of plastic that are not being disposed of properly. There is still a lack of global awareness on the effects of plastic in our environment versus the national guidelines that have been in effect for years. More so, there is a lack of progress being made worldwide to eliminate plastic goods and move towards more environmentally-sustainable products.
I hope people worldwide can become more aware of what their litter does to the environment. Next time you think about tossing a water bottle into the streets, I want you to think about the animals, people, and natural beauty that you are harming. Across our globe, not enough effort has been made to educate the public and enforce laws against littering. The majority of people worldwide aren’t aware of the consequences that come from littering, thus educating smaller groups of people seems like the correct protocol. A social media movement should be made to introduce the world to the problems of littering and how people can stop this danger to the environment. The media team can use real-world examples by visiting national parks or oceans to show the effects we have by littering in our ecosystems. By marketing this on social media, it would be the duty of those who have access to teach others about littering and the improvements that will be made. Around the community, water manufacturers have begun to move from plastic water bottles to aluminum cans. On top of that, an increase in paper straws is slowly taking over plastic straws. I’m impressed with the movement nationally, the altering of products, and recycling motivations. There is so much diversity in terms of material goods used across the globe and it would be hard to enforce the same rules for everyone as a whole. Nationally, we are already focusing on the next generation. Not making changes immediately would cause more harm to the environment and fluctuate future health problems that come from the toxins in plastic. Focusing on this issue on a national scale gives us much more promise because we are under one government that can sanction these laws to provide a healthier community. It is difficult to do the same worldwide, as every country works differently in terms of materials, disposal systems, and local environments.
