By living in practically any city in the world, it has become nigh on impossible to go even a day without seeing some amount of litter covering the ground beneath you. This litter not only makes any area seem far dirtier and unsafe but also has an incredibly negative impact on the environment around us. With just a few minutes of reading, this article may help you understand why it is important to have a steel bin installed conveniently throughout your neighbourhood, and the greater city that surrounds you too.
The Harmful Effects of Leaving Litter on the Streets
It should come as no surprise to anyone that litter can be incredibly devastating to not only the health of each individual that passes by, animals and humans alike, but to the wellbeing of the surrounding environment too. This problem has only become more devastating in recent times due to how much more humans have begun to consume. As humans have started to increase their general consumption, in terms of food, entertainment, self-care, etc. littering has reached an all-time high, in spite of how few people seem to show any immediate concern.
This lack of concern is typically the result of there being very few consequences, if any, when someone is seen littering, even if caught red-handed by the authorities. While the public’s general perception of littering is largely negative, individual instances where littering occurs seem so minor and inconsequential when directly compared to other crimes that have clear-cut victims involved. With littering, however, it is often forgotten about that the earth itself becomes the victim, which in turn can lead us to a much darker, dirtier, and more dangerous environment that we have to call our home.
While a single person’s individual act of littering even just one piece of paper may not be all too harmful, this individual act is committed by millions of people around the world multiple times per day at a near-constant rate. With our steady progress in both general production and consumption, this rate is increasing alarmingly quickly. If our actions show no signs of changing, it is easy to imagine the effects that they could have on the world around us.
From the get-go, litter is able to turn even the most stunningly constructed city centres into a grimy and unsightly place that no one feels comfortable walking through. This sudden change in the aesthetic of the area, as well as those irresponsible enough to litter, can lead to certain levels of tension brewing within the local population. Verbal and physical clashes are often experienced between the suspects that litter and those that attempt to confront them on their actions. In many cases, these suspects are likely to become defensive, go into denial, or become confrontational themselves.
This can have a serious impact to the mental and physical wellbeing of anyone who even so much as walks through such environments. When coming into contact with the toxic chemicals, broken glass and other discarded items found in litter, it can quickly and easily cause accidental harm to human and animal health on a frightening scale. In fact, our littering has become responsible for the death of millions upon millions of animals across the world within just the last 50 years alone.
As litter is often presented in a variety of shapes and sizes, animals often accidentally ingest or get themselves entangled in discarded objects. This has, and will continue to, result in innumerable deaths that are slow and painful. Litter can also be the cause of death and mass suffering through the form of wildfires too.
All too often we see how quickly fires are able to break out in areas with large piles of litter. These piles are usually filled with flammable materials such as paper, plastic, wood, and more. Fires such as this tend to light up when cigarette buttes are discarded while still being fully lit.
Littering also leads to water, air, and soil pollution, which can cause a domino effect that negatively impacts multiple aspects of our everyday lives. When pollutants are collected in the soil we use for crops, the water we use to drink, and the air we use to breathe, the health of ourselves, animals, and plants all become affected in a number of ways. For instance, while plant growth may become stunted across countless species, animals and humans may begin experiencing respiratory problems and other health-related issues too.
Large piles of litter have also become known for being breeding grounds for diseases and insects alike. This is especially the case when water is collected in litter piles, where insects such as mosquitoes gather in the masses. This has led to malaria, West Nile virus, and dengue outbreaks on multiple occasions around the world.
When local governments or private groups attempt to step in to start cleaning the litter in question, it becomes incredibly costly. This is because large sums of money are already provided to those that collect litter that has already been disposed of in the correct and intended manner.
Cleaning litter on the streets requires hefty sums of money to be spent as more people are needed to be involved, each requiring the right gear and equipment in order to do their job safely and efficiently. This in itself can become time-consuming, even with larger groups as they are often limited to only a single area with each clean-up session. There are, however, many local clean-up groups that volunteer their own time and resources to clear beaches, parks, streets, and other public spaces of litter.
How a Simple Steel Bin Can Help to Reduce the Rate of Littering
By looking at the main reasons behind why the act of littering is usually committed by the public on such a large scale, it is likely the result of a lack of trash disposal facilities, such as a recycling, concrete, or steel bin, inadequate or poor environmental education, a lack of personal or legal consequences, and individual laziness
When noting which items were most commonly found in piles of litter on the streets, it was found that wrappers, fast food containers, and cigarette buttes were the main culprits, it became clear that this issue was mostly a matter of a lack of convenience for the individual. Cities all over the globe have been able to tackle this issue in a number of different ways with their own levels of success. While some cities took a more offensive approach by punishing those that litter with hefty fines, and sometimes even jail time depending on the objects being disposed of and the quantity thereof, other cities took a more passive approach. This approach saw more trash disposal units being installed throughout neighbourhoods and other public spaces, while also ensuring that the public themselves were becoming more aware of the issues at hand.
In an incredibly large majority of cases, it is already agreed upon that littering is harmful to the environment. In environments where a steel bin is always within reach, it becomes far less likely that the individual feels compelled to drop their litter anywhere else. By making sure that a steel bin remains as an ever-present aspect of practically any public space, it serves as a constant reminder to keep that space clean.
This is something that many cities have begun to actively take note of and incorporate themselves, almost instantly leading to far cleaner and more welcoming environments. Just as these spaces become more pleasant to look at, they become safer for humans and animals to spend time in too.
In cases where local governments have failed to take action, communities have come together to have their neighbourhoods and public parks installed with a steel bin or two. If this seems like something that you or your community would be interested in pursuing, then you may be able to install your own steel bin sooner than you may have expected.
Contact Streetscape Online to Experience the Benefits of a Steel Bin
Many smaller communities or groups of environmentalists find themselves wanting to make a lasting impact on the world around them. While clean-up missions and making the public more aware can be an incredible start, it is often counteracted against, forgotten about, or is overshadowed by another pressing issue within almost no time at all. As previously mentioned, great success has been found when the correct disposal of litter is made as convenient as possible with the help of a steel bin.
By looking at any of the cleanest public spaces in your city, you may notice how frequently you end up walking past a steel bin or any other disposal unit when taking even the briefest of strolls. Companies such as ours, Streetscape, have made it far easier for the public to have these facilities installed when needed. In fact, our years of service have led to us becoming South Africa’s leading installer and manufacturer of a wide variety of landscaping elements, as our sole intention is to transform urban spaces into environments that are more inviting, functional, and beautiful.
We have done so through the many different elements we have on offer, including a variety of different bollards, bins and benches, and natural landscaping installations too. You may expect services such as ours to be on the more expensive side, but this is not the case. With our team boasting years of experience within manufacturing and landscape design, we have been able to accommodate a wide range of budgets.
No matter what your project entails, we at Streetscape will always ensure that your expectations are matched or even exceeded. This is something we can guarantee as we have come to ensure longevity, durability, and lasting quality by using nothing other than high-grade tools and building materials across each of our quotes. For a personalized service that is sure to draw attention to your home or business, there may be no other logical choice other than to contact our team at Streetscape.
To get in touch in order to install your own steel bin or other landscaping elements, you simply need to click on the “Contact Us” button that is located at the top of our website’s homepage. From here, you will be presented with a number of different options as to how you would like to reach us.
For your own convenience, we provide our business number, our physical address located in Cape Town as well as a fill-in form that allows you to contact us through our website directly. For more information regarding the countless different landscaping elements we have on offer, as well as other relevant topics, be sure to browse through the blogs and guides that are made available on our website, all free of charge.