Where did that rubbish on the side of the road actually come from?

We’ve all heard “Don’t Litter” for many years, and it hasn’t worked. Part of the reason is that some of the trash we see comes from broken system of trash storage and transfer. The system allows wind and wild animals to pull trash out of bins.

Some of the rubbish you see at the side of the road is there because insensitive drivers couldn’t be bothered to dispose their waste in a real bin and instead tossed it out the window. But this isn’t always the case. Much of the trash on the side of road actually gets there from wind, storms, and animals.

Suppose you throw away a used coffee cup into a bin on the side of the road. Chances are that bin doesn’t have a good lid, therefore not equipped to handle wind and squirrels. Perhaps a day later, once the bin has been filled and the wind has picked up, rubbish such as plastic bags or bottles will easily fly out and roll/tumble along the road, eventually snagging on a branch or settling in the grass, staying put for a while and adding to the increasingly ugly view from the car window. Passerby might see this rubbish on the roadside and scoff to themselves, “How could anyone do such a thing? I would never litter”.

I used to think that rubbish on the roadside was there from some inconsiderate person and therefore I didn’t want to pick up after them. Once I understood that some, and perhaps the majority, of litter comes from a broken system which allows for rubbish to escape into our surroundings, I was more inclined to do my part and help clean it up. Picking up a piece of rubbish every day is an easy way to help better your surroundings and the community, wherever you are. And if you have the opportunity, you could even lobby your city council to upgrade their rubbish bins to ones with secure lids.