Prevention Better than Cure for Keeping Your Town Tidy
Walk into your nearest city during the early hours of the daybreak and you will see an army of applied road sweepers on the roads tidying up the rubbish strewn around by all the revelry of last night. It’s a typical early morning setting, and it frequently conceals the litter trouble we face. We don’t often give litter a second thought as we take for granted it will all be cleaned up for us.
Nevertheless, there is a sometimes imperceptible yet significant impact litter plays on human psychology. One is more likely to think a location is lacking law and order if litter is strewn around, and so felons see litter as a latent signal for an opportunity of a mugging or robbery. The very same signal develops some concern in other people who are concerned they might be passing into a more dodgy neighbourhood and are wary of being robbed.
Not only that, but also the influence on the aesthetic appeal of an area. Litter lying about can make a neighbourhood seem unkempt even if it’s only been “abused” by party revellers from the previous night. This can damage the reputation of an area if people are visiting the location for this particular short period of time and only find it in its messy state.
There’s no need to throw rubbish if there are unfilled bins in the area. If there are no rubbish bins, or the rubbish bins that are there are stuffed, this is a problem to address the local council with. Throwing rubbish has a negative influence on everyone.
