The living environment of my dreams is pleasant, functional, safe, and clean. My present neighbourhood has, in fact, lots of these good points. The nearby church park provides a place for soothing walks, the buildings in the area are in good condition and there is no heavy traffic. However, there is a snake slithering in my paradise. This snake is called littering.
There is litter everywhere. Face masks, cigarette cases, disposable coffee cups, chocolate wrappings, empty plastic bags, syringes, flattened beer cans... It is obvious that the situation is out of control.
After talking about the situation with my neighbours, I was surprised at how many people share the same concern about the state of the environment. Like me, they had from time to time taken their own hand held litter-pickers and collected trash to their refuse sacks, without waiting for someone else to take the initiative. They also told me that they could happily form a larger group to collect trash together.
I find the idea of a joint effort to collect litter intriguing for at least two reasons. As a new resident in the neighbourhood, this kind of activity would offer me an opportunity to be part of the community. At the same time, I could make my dream of a cleaner and safer environment come true. And if being active in the local community is not reason enough for property owners, they should consider participating in litter-picking for selfish reasons: the value of property rises, if the environment is taken care of.
Hopefully, I will have an opprtunity to write about possible progress in my trash-picking efforts later on, perhaps even as a Garbage Queen.
Photo Pixabay
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