The 21st century is all about convenience. I mean think about it: we’ve got fast food, fast transportation and fast internet. Speed is everything, and with increased speed comes increased convenience. However, this convenience comes at a cost.

Every year, around 1.9 billion tons of litter ends up in the ocean and 11.5 billion dollars are spent cleaning up litter. In an anonymous survey it was found that 75% of people admitted to littering in the past five years (litteritcostsyou.org). There is no other explanation for this epidemic besides the increasing search for convenience and the overall laziness of society. America leads this epidemic, more than quadrupling the amount of litter found in other developed nations (literati.org).

I know we’ve all been there. Throwing fast food wrappers on the ground just because the floor is available. But I honestly don’t understand how people are able to treat the world like their own personal trashcan. It’s just pure laziness. It’s not that hard to show some appreciation for the environment and simply wait a little to throw things away in the proper container. Humans are already causing more than 100,000 deaths per year of marine animals such as dolphins, whales, turtles and seals because of plastic litter ending up in marine ecosystems (http://www.perseus-net.eu/site/content.php).

“It personally bothers me when people litter when they’re inside. There are trash cans maybe five feet away, but they continue to litter. It’s just pure laziness,” Teresa Manipadam (17′) said.

This isn’t a ridiculous request. It’s not like I’m asking everyone to turn into a tree-hugging hippie that collects every piece of litter they see. I’m really just asking for our environment to be treated with a level of dignity.

“I honestly just think people who litter are really inconsiderate and selfish. We only have one earth for all of us and people who pollute it by littering are not only hurting the environment, but also making it more difficult for the rest of us,” Lianet Diaz (’17) said.

So next time you want to throw that cigarette butt out the window because it’s convenient for you, think about how inconvenient it is for the environment to become your personal trashcan.