A hiker shared a video on Reddit displaying a disturbing amount of trash and litter scattered around a public lake.
(click here to watch the video if the embed does not appear)
The video, shared on the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, shows a variety of litter scattered around the edge of a natural lake, ranging from bottles to plastic spoons and trash bags, and even an unseen pile of dog feces mentioned in the description.
"The video doesn't even show all the trash," the description also read.
The most disturbing aspect of this video is the reality it illustrates: that litter is a normalized and socially acceptable form of pollution. It is therefore not generally taken as seriously as air pollution from fossil fuels.
However, leaders should not be taken lightly. Not only is it an eyesore that robs environments of their natural beauty, but most forms of litter can pose an active danger to wildlife's health and safety if animals become entangled in it or ingest it.
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Additionally, because many discarded items are plastic products, they can take literal centuries even to begin decomposing, meaning they will not simply fade away into the environment. They tend to break down into harmful microplastics that can pollute the soil and our water supply, contributing to a variety of long-term health issues.
"This is why I hate people," one user commented under the post, expressing their frustration with the careless nature of the litter deposit.
"The things we do to our planet…smh," wrote another user.
It's for this reason that we should take the initiative to use less plastic in our daily lives to avoid seeing piles of trash inevitably end up in lakes like this, or just waste away in landfills.
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Definitely 👍 Taking local action to either clean up our neighborhoods ourselves or reach out to local municipalities can make a difference.
In some countries, like the U.K., littering is even against the law and punishable by either a fine or jail time.
If we keep the focus on prevention and clean up the, one day littering will be on the same level as air and ocean pollution in the public eye.
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