Littering has become a practice, and we see piles of garbage in every street and in the neighborhood.We have seen trash scattered almost everywhere around us. This scattered trash has severely disrupted our environment. The problem is that this has harmed our tourist sites and affected the local areas and communities. Furthermore, it has contributed to the spread of diseases. There is an urgent need to address this issue.
What Garbage Reflects?
Garbage lying in the street reflects more than just poor habits or practices. it reveals deep structural issues regarding our backwardness as a nation and our lack of progress. It questions the government, the education system, management along with administration, and leadership. It asks why no one is stepping up to guide society toward cleanliness. Similarly, when tourists visit our country, they notice these seemingly minor details but perceive them as significant indicators of how a society maintains itself, as our public spaces often reflect the state of our private lives.
Who is Responsible?
The real problem arises when we fail to accept a responsibility as our own. An individual often assumes that someone else ought to do the duty. For example, Take the issue of littering, when we contribute to the mess, the common concept of mindset is that since everyone else is littering too, So, our own actions won't make a difference to society. Therefore, individuals are responsible for littering and the waste we see around us. It's the mentality that is becoming a parasite for a healthy society. Why is an individual being held responsible for the accumulated waste? You might be wondering? Right? It's because society is the sum of all individuals living in it. When an individual does a task and it is multipled to all other individuals, it becomes actions of a society. The same is happening in the case of littering as the chain is starting from You and Me, and it's not stopping.
Similarly, if we consider the industries that are generating more waste, the ultimate responsibility still lies with individuals. After all, it is people who run these companies. It is an individual, such as a company head, who makes the decision regarding where to dump that waste? When such waste is discarded near public spaces, it impacts the lives of the general public.
Remedy to a Clean and Green Environment ?
So, if the question is how to resolve the issue of littering, the primary focus must be on individuals. The first step is to train the individual. The education system plays an important role here. The children of today, who will grow into the adults of tomorrow, are the seeds that will eventually become trees, and it is in this education system that we need to invest. Education should not merely consist of rote learning or memorization of the facts ( the one usually happens in old teaching methodologies). Instead, we must develop eco-friendly habits in children. They should receive an education that brings behavioral change and makes them able with the skills to adopt eco-friendly approaches in the future. After investing in seeds (the kids) of tomorrow, the government should take further measures,such as imposing fines and penalties.
