Why focus on Litter?

​With so many urgent environmental issues at hand, why should we be so concerned about litter? Because it's the manageable tip of an environmental iceberg and here's how you and I can deal with it today.

Broken Window Theory
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In its simplest form, this theory states that the moment some defacement is visible in an area, more will rapidly follow. What does this have to do with litter? Everything. In my own neighbourhood, which was always neat and clean, there was a particularly windy July, and following the summer fair that year, a lot of wrappers and discarded packaging got blown out of the traditional clean up radius and down our street. My requests for a clean up to the municipal waste management company went unanswered and the problem grew to the point where fly tipping now occurs weekly and it finally spurred me in to action and to founding Litterhero.org. In essence, once a place has been tainted, the problem tends to get worse until the cycle is broken. The full Broken Window Theory and its ramifications, particularly in the field of criminology are fascinating and worth reading about further.

" once a place has been tainted, the problem tends to get worse until the cycle is broken

​Small actions with a BIG impact
Is picking up a piece of litter at a time even worth the effort? Research says it absolutely is. If your own actions can reset a situation like the one mentioned above, by fixing the broken window, then you have leveraged your litter picking actions exponentially. If you have done nothing more that spread the idea that we all have a stake in keeping our environment in good shape, as other people looked on bemused, then perhaps you will have taken the next massive step to conquering hearts and minds.

Hearts & Minds
Part of the act of picking litter in public aims to make a social statement, or in fact a number of statements: 

1. We have a waste problem
2. It's not normal and it's not ok
3. You and I are responsible
4. You and I can fix this
5. We will all benefit if we do!

The solitary act of picking litter from time to time will have a small positive effect compared to the massive effect that comes from conquering hearts and minds and starting to shift the mindset that has allowed litter and waste to become culturally acceptable.

Paradigm Shift
The ultimate goal of the #LitterHero movement is the really focus on ending Waste in all forms of human misuse of resources. By pausing to collect and consider the quantity and nature of the litter that surrounds us in modern societies, we can stop and realise that it is the materialisation of massively wasteful practices, and that we have the technological means to live near waste free lives today and no extra cost.

The final realisation is that we are not mere consumers, at the mercy of whatever products are pushed our way, or victims of greedy corporations and the careless ways of other people. Instead, consider that you and me can choose to be either part of the problem, or a hero helping solve the problem.

Be a LitterHero!