The day after the frat on my street threw a party, my front yard looked like a Busch Light bomb went off. Empty cans were stomped on the sidewalk, unopened beers laid in the grass and red solo cups decorated the street like rogue garden gnomes.
I have nothing against partying. I think you can be responsible, safe and respectful of the area without throwing trash all over the place. But that was not the case on my street.
While my landlord beat me to it, my neighbors spent their morning with trash bags in hand picking junk out of the grass. Only after all of the litter was gone were people going about their days.
You’re wasting other people’s time by throwing trash on the ground. Waste your own time by finding a trash can at the party or taking it home with you to throw away. Throwing it on the ground shows that you don’t respect the care that people put into their homes, and it also shows that you don’t respect yourself enough to keep an eye on your own belongings.
Once you pour it, that is your drink, and it doesn’t magically end up on the ground.
Not only is throwing trash on the ground disrespectful to anyone who has to clean it up, but it’s also terrible for the environment.
Birds, squirrels and rabbits are very active on my street, and leaving plastic and metal outside is dangerous for them. One of my roommates had a squirrel chew through their car wires – animals will eat anything they lay their eyes on.
Do you think animals won’t try to eat the crushed pieces of a beer can or the parts of a theme costume you ditched on the way home? The toxins and sharp edges hurt their little bellies, and I don’t want these critters to die. The animals don’t know any better, but you should. Our planet is already dying, so let’s do our part to avoid contributing.
Part of being a kind person who spreads positivity in your community is being inconvenienced. Doing good deeds will not always be easy, and small sacrifices need to be made sometimes. It is inconvenient to hold onto trash until you get home or comb the trenches of a frat house to find the singular trash can all 20-some of them share. But it helps to maintain a mutual respect for people around you.
I don’t know anyone who threw trash in my yard, but it feels like they don’t respect me, my home or our shared community. Maybe you don’t care about my feelings, but we need to go above and beyond to make each other feel cared for during hard times.
Being a decent person is about respect for yourself and others, and all of us have room to improve.