Make the World Cleaner

One piece of litter at a time

A bright piece of plastic on the beach. Right next to where I wanted to sit down. Already broken in at least two pieces, the other part, or parts, nowhere to be seen. On a beach, it’s not hard to imagine them floating away, ending up in the plastic soup. So very avoidable. So easy to pick it up and carry it in your bag or pocket to bring it to the nearest bin. So easy not to toss it, too. Still, for so many people, it seems too hard to properly dispose of plastic items like this one. So much so, that increasingly, governments are resorting to laws banning single-use plastics. But that doesn’t remove the megatonnes of plastic and litter already in our environment. Fortunately, we can make a small but significant difference. Pick up the trash you see and properly dispose of it. I often do. My kids even call me when they see plastic in nature or on the street.

“Dad! Plastic! We need to throw it in the bin!”

It is that easy. Really. You can even make a bigger difference if you do that, and make a picture of the trash first, using the Litterati app. When it started out, it was an Instagram account, using the location data to create a map. Now they have their own app. The data on where you found the litter, and what it was, can be shared with (local) governments, so they can take targeted action. You make the world a bit better, and help others do even more. How’s that for a small act of kindness?

That bright orange bit of gelato spoon in the picture? I carried it around for a while before I disposed of it properly. You can do it, too.

Poetry in Motion

Inspiration is everywhere, I said in the previous edition of this newsletter. I found it while floating in a pool, this time, and experimented a bit with the result. Let me know what you think. All images, music and text in the video below are mine.