You might think that cleanups, like the massive one that happened last Sunday nationwide with 1,700 volunteers taking part, would get only positive feedback. I had been planning another column for today, a more positive one, but after some thinking I took the decision that some of the negative comments had to be tackled before too much time passed.
The main criticism from some, when people do clean ups, is that we are enabling litterers to litter more. That would maybe be a first thought, but let’s dig a bit deeper to see if this is the case.
The reason behind a person throwing a bottle out of a car window has only one explanation - ignorance. It is pure selfishness – that person could not care less about the fact that someone, paid or not, will have to pick it up. I have even heard an offender stating that “there is someone paid to clean up after me, that’s what I pay taxes for”. Really? So instead of investing tax money wisely, we should use them to clean up your mess? So, back to main point - selfishness. Selfishness may derive from poor education, but it doesn’t have to be the case. I’ve seen people with very high education littering. How come? For sure they understand that it is against the law.
A person will be more prone to litter when the society accepts it in general. There can be laws, enforced or not, and people will still litter. Because 99% of the times, there are no police around who can enforce the law.
Don’t get me wrong, laws are good, but without tackling the issue from all angles we can’t claim that problem is solved. So what is needed to decrease the amount of people littering? One simple thing, which is so hard to achieve: peer pressure.
What happens when no one is around is what defines the moral of a person. A lot of littering happens when no one is watching, because litterers think their action has no direct consequence for them. They choose to not see the indirect one - a polluted environment for all. The most worrying ones though are the ones littering without thinking twice, not even caring if the bottle hits the car behind them. They are the ones without integrity, with no sense of civic pride or shame. Their behaviour and actions spread negativity in our society.
After the cleanup yesterday, and on all cleanups, the same question is asked, both by volunteers and media; “Why aren’t the mayors and politicians here?” Let me tell you why some of them aren't, because they are like the public: humans.
They aren’t any different from us. 0.4% of the Maltese population joined Sunday’s event. How many politicians do we have in Malta? Without knowing the exact number, I bet more than 0.4% of them joined me on the event.
So why don’t we ask why the majority of citizens to not take part?
The reason is that the people are waiting for the politicians to take the lead. While politicians, representing the people, are waiting for the majority of the people to speak up. They are after all serving us, not the other way around. The more people I get on board, the more politicians follow. You would be surprised at how many politicians join the cleanup events, without telling anyone.
Now you would think that I am going all in to defend the politicians not showing up. I am not. I just find the criticism unfair at times. It takes a society to keep a nation clean. Just like it takes a nation to raise children, not only a family and a childcare center. We are all influencing each other.
So to the ones who did not join and came up with the excuse that they did not because politicians had not joined – I am not buying it. Had you been at the event, had you seen the smile on the faces of those who were there, you would have realized that when people attend such events they feel empowered, magic happens.
Cleanups are not just for cleaning up. They are a way of enabling like-minded people to meet up, discuss ideas and make sure that people feel that they are part of the solution, and not the problem.
More importantly, we are cleaning up to save marine life. We are cleaning up to take a stand and to show the people that cleaning is not only done by the people who are paid to do so - it’s your friend and neighbor doing it as well.
Practice what you preach. Be the change you want to see. No matter what others do, always do right.
Camilla Appelgren is an environmentalist