Witnessing the destruction of your favorite outdoor spot is heartbreaking. One Redditor was devastated to see how much their jogging route had changed due to littering.
The OP shared a video of the beautiful path along the water; however, there was now litter everywhere. What used to be a private and peaceful spot had turned into an area filled with plastic water bottles, wrappers, and other trash.
(Click here to watch the video if the embed does not appear.)
"I discovered this place as a really great spot for jogging two years ago, and at that time, only a few people would come here, usually just to jog," the OP wrote alongside the video. "Now, this place is very crowded, and there are litters everywhere. What a shame!"
Redditors empathized with the OP and discussed the impact of littering.
"The worst thing about littering is it snowballs," one user commented. "People see rubbish already scattered about and think 'what's one more?' or 'well if nobody else around here cares.' It's just sad."
Littering is not just an eyesore. It's a major threat to the environment. Plastic waste takes hundreds of years to break down, and during that process, it leaches toxic microplastics into the soil. These microplastics accumulate in water bodies and natural landscapes, eventually ending up in wildlife.
In this case, the litter can easily blow into the water, where marine life can mistake the plastic for pieces for food. Ingesting trash poses severe health risks to wildlife, as it can cause digestive complications and, in some cases, death. Animals can also get tangled up in plastic waste, which can cause painful injuries that hinder their ability to move and eat.
Littering is a massive problem, with nearly 50 billion pieces of litter found across roads and waterways in the U.S., according to Keep America Beautiful, an organization that conducted the largest study on litter in the U.S.
While littering still remains a threat to the environment, there is hope for change. In that same study, 90% of the individuals surveyed noted that littering is a problem in their area.
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This acknowledgment is one of the first steps in the right direction. Spreading awareness and properly discarding your trash are simple lifestyle changes that protect outdoor spaces for everyone.
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