Museum of Litter

FL Sunrise over Styrofoam

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Who's responsible for litter? YOU!

Who, me? Yes! YOU ....... and me.

Years after the Litter Bug and Crying Indian campaigns of the 70's, we still have litter.  I find this unbelievable, and think WE are the problem.

Litter picked up in about 45 minutes on a relatively clean beach, in LBTS, FL 33308

People litter because we allow them to. As long as we don't expect it to be different or speak up in some way to say litter is unacceptable, nothing will change. There are many problems in the world complicated to solve, but litter isn't one of them

Littering laws that are rarely enforced, despite the fact litter cleanup costs our nation about $11.5 billion per year. This is a huge waste of money that could be much better spent.

Until people learn to toss their trash where it belongs, we need to continue picking up after them. However, at the same time we need to educate about the problems of litter. Lots of people don't even think cigarette butts are litter. They have no idea where all this litter goes or how it affects local communities and the planet as a whole. They have no idea their litter ends up in the Pacific Garbage Patch or the newly discovered Atlantic Garbage Patch.

If people want to litter: FINE! Announce we will begin to enforce the litter laws and issue citations that could fund litter-prevention education. Just like there are traffic schools for drivers, there can be litter schools with Trash Talk Classes for litterers where they could learn the importance of pitching in to keep the community clean.

Any bad habit takes a while to break. To encourage good will and get people used to the idea of using the garbage can we could have Green Ambassadors. They could kindly remind people there are fines, and give them a friendly warning, with a bag to use to tote their trash, possibly printed with litter facts. I think people would care if they knew the danger it poses to people, pets and wildlife. A man in my town had to have his toe amputated after stepping on broken glass on the beach. I'm sure if the person who left their bottle behind had any idea of the consequences of their action they would have made a difference choice.

I think mostly this is a very unconscious act. Most people don't think it's a big deal and are offended and defensive if you say something. Years ago, I used to say something directly to the litterer. But, these days, confrontation is dangerous and does NOT work. Then, I tried handing them their trash and saying, "You must have dropped this."  This approach doesn't work either because they know what you're really saying.

Here's my NEW approach. If I see someone litter I walk over, pick up the object and nicely ask their permission to take it.  Of course they say they don't mind and back off like I'm crazy. I take the object -- maybe take a picture of it first -- smile and sincerely say  "Thank you" and hand them this card:

Then I walk away. If you can't see the back clearly in this post it gives info about how long it takes things to decompose. I am hoping that with no pressure on them of confrontation or being blamed and made 'wrong' they'll read it and think about the facts.  Education is the key. And we have to reach litterers in a way they will be open to receive the information.

We need to keep finding ways to bring this conversation into the open. I invite your comments.  If you're on twitter and share about litter, use please use hashtags so we can find and support each other without wading through all the kitty litter & birth litter tweets. Use #litter, or #littering, or a new fav of mind #TwitterLitterAway. I do believe we CAN #TwitterLitterAway.

Sharon

PS. FREE Thank You Cards are available on Museum of Litter homepage.

2010 Earth Day Sunrise, or, as Bucky would say, Sunsight

Being Earth Day, watching the sunsight (as Bucky would say) this morning, got me to thinking about the 1st Earth Day I remember.

It was 1975. A few days earlier I'd had the good fortune to meet and spend four days with Buckminster Fuller and his wife Anne. It was just the three of us, in a cottage in Key Largo, FL. Bucky, almost 80, was writing a forward for someone's book and needed help to get his thoughts on paper. I had a typewriter and would type out drafts of his dictation. So, I found myself working, living, and dining with the Fullers for several days.

We'd go grocery shopping in my yellow VW Beetle. Separate carts. Separate bills. Our diets were very different.  I was a hippy, yogi (only wore white), and vegetarian. I was shocked at Bucky's diet; it consisted of steak and ice cream. I asked him about eating meat. He believed there is no death, only transference of energy so he felt completely neutral about being a carnivore.

I didn't have a clue about Bucky or his work, but after dinner we'd sit at the kitchen table and he would draw diagrams. He'd explain vectors to me and how the tetrahedron [the basic structural unit of the geodesic dome] is the building block of the universe. It was all way over my head, but I was fascinated. Bucky said I asked good questions. And he told me not to waste time giving information I feel is valuable if someone hasn't asked for it. But, if someone asks, you have a responsibility to tell them and to make sure they understand.

I absolutely fell in love with Bucky. He was so present and ego-less. His eyes (with those thick glasses) were like deep pools of accumulated wisdom. I had been on a deeply spiritual path, discarding science, and realized with reverence Bucky had synthesized the two.

On Earth Day, a few days later, I listened to Bucky give a wonderful talk at a church in Coconut Grove. At the end of the presentation everyone gave him a long standing ovation. He motioned with his hands to stop and waited patiently for silence. Then he said, "I just want you to know, when you stand together clapping like this, it is not me you are applauding, but each other...you're telling each other you're all in agreement with the truth of what has just been said."

Mardi Gras Parade Litter

 Photo by Beth Campbell

Here's a photo taken after a Mardi Gras parade. Paul Campbell, a native from New Orleans, tells me they do a real good good job of cleaning up the streets after the parades. And, that's great, but  the Museum of Litter wonders why there has to be litter in the first place. Why should we have to pay somebody to come behind someone else and pick up what they've thrown down? Why can't we just learn to throw our garbage in the trash? Looking at this picture, I think the Museum needs to make reservations to travel to next year's Mardi Gras. Think of all the lovely litter art we can make from all those beads.

Beth, we welcome your comments or thoughts as you were taking the picture. We welcome any comments about litter and litter prevention.

Desiree talks about picking up her pet peeve: Cigarette butts

From Storm Drain to Shining Sea

Here's a picture of a little litter in a storm drain in Fort Lauderdale, FL. 

Here's a cute video reminder of where the cigarette butts and other litter go from here. Out of the mouth of babes: