Changing the dirty mindset of litterbugs

LITTER is unsightly, and littering is a persistent problem.

From plastic bottles along hiking trails to cigarette butts on sidewalks, improper waste disposal makes our public spaces look horrible – have you seen a beautiful beach with a line of rubbish at the high tide mark? Awful.

It also poses an environmental threat as plastic and other waste clogs up drains and waterways, increasing the risk of flooding, while toxins from litter make their way into our surroundings and even our food – microplastics in fish, anyone?

In March, a Bill to introduce community service penalties for people found guilty of littering offences will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

The proposal states that the court’s authority will determine the specific community service punishment for individuals found guilty of littering offences.

Hopefully, the initiative will raise awareness among the public about the dirty – and for many, automatic – habit of littering.

We also hope a community service sentence will compel litterers to think about the consequences of their actions, perhaps reminding them of the need to maintain a clean Malaysia.

Perhaps it will even trigger a behaviour change, prompting offenders to think twice before throwing away that plastic wrapper or empty burger box.

But nothing will happen if this initiative is not enforced. How many times have we seen Do Not Litter signs with rubbish piled cheekily right underneath?

Why is Singapore so famously clean? Because people know that they will indeed be fined for the seemingly trivial action of littering.

Even properly enforced, though, this initiative is not enough to change an ingrained bad habit on its own.

Apart from enforcing fines, our neighbour down south has been successful because an entire generation grew up learning not to be litterbugs.

That is what we must do too: cultivate a culture of cleanliness from a young age. Better habits need to be nurtured at home and in school.

Parents play an essential role in setting a good example for their children. They can teach them the importance of cleanliness and environmental responsibility by not littering.

Schools obviously have a significant role to play. They can emphasise the environmental impact of littering so that students understand why they need to keep the environment clean.

But more than all this, we must attempt to teach a new generation that public spaces belong to them, and to all of us.

Once we have a proprietary feeling for our surroundings we will surely care more about them.

We once asked a primary schoolboy who had just dropped an ice cream wrapper on the road if he would do that at home, and he replied, “Tak, nanti rumah kotor, mak marah!” (No, the house would get dirty, mum would get angry.)

Perhaps offenders spending time cleaning up litter will make them see their community as their home that they don’t want to dirty.