The next time you are in a public place, look around you. Is the place clean and attractive, or is there a lot of trash on the ground? If you want to have a cleaner, more beautiful community, you can help stop littering! First, let’s look at where littering happens. Most people do not throw litter on the ground around their own houses, but for some reason, many people think it’s OK to litter in public places. You probably know that parks often have a big littering problem. People buy food or drinks, or they bring picnics to the park, and when they have finished, they drop metal cans and paper or plastic packages on the ground. Did you know that there are types of businesses that also have big problems with littering? When you shop at a convenience store or buy food at a fast food restaurant, look at the area outside the business. How much trash do you see? Unfortunately, people often buy things in a store or restaurant and then walk outside and throw the packages on the ground. “Yes, that’s a problem,” you say, “but what can I do about it?” First, organize people. Use social media to connect with other people in your school or community who want to help. Then make a plan. Here are some ideas that can help you: • Talk to city officials and ask them to put more trash cans and recycling bins in public places. Also talk to the owners and managers of convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Most people won’t litter if there are plenty of places to put trash. • Try to change the types of litter. Paper is biodegradable. Plastic, polystyrene foam, and metal are not biodegradable, and we should reduce their use. Most straws used with soft drinks are made of plastic. Cups are made of plastic or polystyrene foam, and many drinks are sold in cans. Food is sometimes sold in polystyrene foam boxes. Try to convince businesses to use paper straws and cups and cardboard boxes for food. • Educate people. Start a community blog to explain which materials are biodegradable and which are not, to tell people where and how to recycle their trash, and to recommend eco-friendly businesses and products. We should use our community services like trash collection and recycling to make our communities better places to live.

SOURCE: https://www.macmillaneducationeverywhere.com/