One thing I keep hearing repeatedly is that Singapore is litter free. It is not.
It IS one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and even one of the cleanest cities in the world I am told. I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but it is not litter free. They do try to keep a vigilante grasp on the litter, and are extremely good about it - especially on the roads most seen by tourists. Driving down the East Coast Parkway, all the trees are trimmed to perfection, there is no litter and everything seen by those traveling is prim and proper. Off the beaten paths though, there is litter.
There are harsh realities to every walk I take. Yesterday, it was the litter. Even though my walk was quite enjoyable, I was dismayed to see the litter at every turn. We live a bit out of the city where there is quite a lot of construction all around. Oh, wait. I live in Singapore - there is construction everywhere, isn't there? While walking, I decided to take some pictures so you could see what I am talking about.
Yes, we even have tires and plywood in some places.
And sadly, at the base of our rainbow tree - there was litter.
What is astonishing is that the Singaporean government has trash cans everywhere - and they do work very hard at trying to keep the litter picked up. You only have to walk a very short distance to find a trash can to throw your garbage in no matter where you are. There is absolutely no excuse to toss it in the park - or anywhere else for that matter. The government is doing their job - why isn't everyone else?
Yesterday, standing on my balcony, I was watching the construction crew working across the street. A cement truck driver was waiting on the crew to start his job, and I saw him 'cleaning' his truck - tossing all the garbage from inside his truck out on the construction area. Now I am sure there are men that will come and tidy his mess up, but is it really necessary to do that?
During my walks, I usually take a few plastic bags and pick up the garbage between here and where I am going – it gives me exercise and makes our area prettier. As I get to the bins I just toss the trash in and then wash my hands when I get where I am going. I am not from this country, but I have pride in it just as everyone else should. I wish people would take just a moment more and do the same. Why doesn't the world would take responsibility for the litter we are tossing out onto our wonderful landscapes? It is so easy to throw your trash properly away - or take it out with you to do so later.
I realize it is not our job to clean up after others - but I would love to see what a world with no litter would look like, so I try to contribute to making that happen.
Imagine what a difference we could make if we each picked up a small amount of trash every day. Imagine the exercise we could get by doing so. Imagine how much cleaner the world would be if we all threw our trash in the proper place. Imagine if people would take pride in their area (no matter where in the world you live) and not allow it to be trashed. Imagine if others did the same.
So now you know. Singapore is not litter free. But it could be.
Imagine Singapore or world with no litter.
Yesterday, standing on my balcony, I was watching the construction crew working across the street. A cement truck driver was waiting on the crew to start his job, and I saw him 'cleaning' his truck - tossing all the garbage from inside his truck out on the construction area. Now I am sure there are men that will come and tidy his mess up, but is it really necessary to do that?
During my walks, I usually take a few plastic bags and pick up the garbage between here and where I am going – it gives me exercise and makes our area prettier. As I get to the bins I just toss the trash in and then wash my hands when I get where I am going. I am not from this country, but I have pride in it just as everyone else should. I wish people would take just a moment more and do the same. Why doesn't the world would take responsibility for the litter we are tossing out onto our wonderful landscapes? It is so easy to throw your trash properly away - or take it out with you to do so later.
I realize it is not our job to clean up after others - but I would love to see what a world with no litter would look like, so I try to contribute to making that happen.
Imagine what a difference we could make if we each picked up a small amount of trash every day. Imagine the exercise we could get by doing so. Imagine how much cleaner the world would be if we all threw our trash in the proper place. Imagine if people would take pride in their area (no matter where in the world you live) and not allow it to be trashed. Imagine if others did the same.
So now you know. Singapore is not litter free. But it could be.
Imagine Singapore or world with no litter.
1 comment:
I remember when we were kids it seemed okay to just toss our cups outside the window - we saw everyone else doing it and thought nothing of it. Now I know better! The Air Force taught me many things and it only took a week of picking up garbage on a cold Alaska highway to get the picture.
I take pride in knowing my kids will NEVER think it's okay just to throw garbage out a window. We practice "Leave No Trace" in everything we do and we put all our garbage from the van in a garbage bag in the van and dispose of it when we get home.
Nate did a huge project last year for our Reflections program at school. It was titled "I can make a difference by CLEANING THE WORLD". He created a calendar with suggestions of how everyone could make a difference just be leading by example. Choose one park, trail, street to clean a month and show your neighbors how its done... What a great idea!!!
Post a Comment