Lately, I have been picking up a lot of litter in my neighborhood on my daily walks. And I have been struck by the particular trash items I see most often.
Of course, drink containers of all types make up a huge proportion of what people throw out, whether it’s water or soda bottles, coffee and fast food cups (with lids), or juice boxes. And, as has recently been noted in news articles, plastic straws are also big culprits. Smokers, I'm sad to say, are in a class of thoughtless and dirty all their own, based on the number of empty cigarette packages and butts I find everywhere.
But there are also a surprising number of household cleaning items that end up in the trash and litter I find. The most common ones are dryer sheets and wipes of all kinds, from baby ones, to Swiffer cloths, to Clorox throwaways.
I have always questioned these single use cleaning products as wasteful, and my experience on litter patrol has made me loathe them even more. I do not know if people just don’t realize the environmental costs of these convenience products, or if they don’t care.
And they apparently do not mind paying the often absurdly high purchase price demanded for them.
Of course, drink containers of all types make up a huge proportion of what people throw out, whether it’s water or soda bottles, coffee and fast food cups (with lids), or juice boxes. And, as has recently been noted in news articles, plastic straws are also big culprits. Smokers, I'm sad to say, are in a class of thoughtless and dirty all their own, based on the number of empty cigarette packages and butts I find everywhere.
But there are also a surprising number of household cleaning items that end up in the trash and litter I find. The most common ones are dryer sheets and wipes of all kinds, from baby ones, to Swiffer cloths, to Clorox throwaways.
I have always questioned these single use cleaning products as wasteful, and my experience on litter patrol has made me loathe them even more. I do not know if people just don’t realize the environmental costs of these convenience products, or if they don’t care.
And they apparently do not mind paying the often absurdly high purchase price demanded for them.
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