Auburn — the Loveliest Village on the Plains, right?
We have beautiful sunsets, a thriving cultural downtown and a pedestrian-friendly surrounding area.
But whether I’m walking my dogs near my house a mile away from campus, or wandering Magnolia on gameday with an optimistic, PBR-induced grin, it puts a damper on my mood when I see litter on the ground.
My mind starts reeling. I think about the chances of that piece of litter ending up in the ocean and suffocating some poor endangered species.
I think about the money spent on first making that piece of disposable nothingness and then the billions we spend per year cleaning up that nothingness.
I think about how I should stop what I’m doing, leave my friends and go on a nationwide campaign to clean up the streets and bag every piece of litter.
But I don’t.
I mean, sometimes I pick up a bottle, stray napkin or plastic bag, and I feel good about it.
But nine times out of 10, I leave it. I pride myself on trying to be an environmentally-conscious, involved individual, but something so simple as throwing away some trash I pass multiple times a day evades me.
But why?
One reason is I feel people will look at me like I’m crazy and say, “Look at that hippie picking up trash. She thinks she’s going to save the world or something by picking up one can?”
Hopefully people do not feel that way and it’s just my paranoia.
I would like to believe it would be an inspiring act, people would see a normal citizen cleaning up the city, not because she is being paid, but because this is her world as it is everyone else’s.
And if you love something, you take care of it.
I completely understand the reasons someone may litter.
Perhaps you’ve just finished stuffing down your oh-so-delicious double cheeseburger and you just can’t dirty up the inside of your temple that is your car.
Or maybe you’ve been having a dandy night and you want to impress that girl by skull-crushing a can and throwing it into traffic.
She’s going to love that, by the way.
Or perhaps it doesn’t even cross your mind anymore when you put that cigarette butt out on the ground when there’s a perfectly good receptacle 3 feet away.
All of these situations can happen to anyone.
But I would like to make a vow to my fellow citizens because I have broken my own rules before, too.
I vow not to litter. I vow to be aware of the cleanliness of my city and my world.
I vow to throw away my own trash and make a strong effort to also pick up any other trash I see on a daily basis.
Most importantly, I vow to simply incorporate this in my everyday psyche and make it a priority.
And Auburn, I hope you do too.
To further my point here are some litter-related facts:
• 9 billion tons of litter end up in the ocean every year, according to litteritcostsyou.org.
• From this, 100,000 marine animals die per year, according to oceancrusaders.org.
• Around 80 percent of litter will end up in the ocean, according to nrdc.org.
• $11.5 billion is spent per year in litter clean up, according to litteritcostsyou.org.
• In Auburn in 2013, more than 3,000 bags of litter were collected, according to auburnalabama.org.
• It will not harm you or others to throw away trash properly or to pick up others’ litter.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
