Care about the environment.
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Lead by example in keeping your surroundings litter-free, and inspiring others to follow.
Educate people about the effects of littering.
Act Now, prevent littering.
No more normalizing littering, let's create a clean society.
"I see litter as part of a long continuum of anti-social behavior."
"I see litter as part of a long continuum of anti-social behavior."
The Effect of Littering
The Effect of Littering
We have decided to create this campaign when we saw some elderly cleaning staff still picking up water bottles, plastic bags, papers, and litter of all kinds. It was raining heavily, and they were still working outside despite the extremely cold wind and the heavy rain. They were still working even after most students and staff had gone home. It made us think about how each extra minute they spent cleaning up was a minute away from their loved ones and their warm homes. This scene made us sad and angry. It was also shameful how elderly people were cleaning up after students who were supposed to be educated and responsible for their actions. One student’s irresponsible and harmful behaviour leaves an impact on someone's life and makes his or her job harder.
We have also noticed how stray animals like cats could get hurt by shattered glass or plastic on the ground. Seeing animals getting hurt because of litter on the ground made us even more determined to stop littering and make our environment safe for everyone, including the animals on our campus.
Stray cats and dogs are helpless creatures that are the most vulnerable to litter. Litter can include broken glass and metal cans that have some leftover food in them. The smell of these leftovers would drive a hungry cat or dog to go through the harmful litter. This might lead to severe injuries. For example, a cat might put its head in a metal can and get stuck or cut its mouth while trying to eat. According to Torres "Researchers estimate that over one million animals die each year after ingesting, or becoming entrapped in, improperly discarded trash".
All three of us love cats and we luckily have cats on campus. From our very first year at BU, we met this friendly black cat who wandered around campus and got fed and petted by students. We collectively decided to name him Awad and we see him and play with him almost every day. Awad considers BU campus as his home and Shahd brings him food and water. Here in the photo, Awad is enjoying some dry food and clean water during a hot day in summer. However, Awad is in danger of getting hurt by the litter students leave behind. Mayar once saw him eating from a littered Tuna can. He could have easily cut his mouth because of this litter and she quickly threw it away and gave him some of the dry food she got for him.
Awad
Don't be the reason BU campus stops being a safe and loving home for helpless and homeless cats. The act of leaving leftovers behind can risk a vulnerable creature's life. If Awad had gotten hurt on that day while putting his head inside the Tuna can, he would have stayed bleeding without any help. Your simple irresponsible act can hurt loved cats like Awad.
You have finished smoking but you’re too lazy to walk 2 meters to get to the trash can in front of you. You decide to take the easy way and just throw it on the little plant next to you. Then you go to your class, unaware that your little lazy act caused a little plant to die. One of the most beautiful aspects of BU campus is the green and refreshing trees, plants, and flowers and BU workers take good care of them. For this huge amount of trees and plants to live healthily, a huge amount of time, effort, and energy are being spent. According to Turner, It "takes about two years to mature and continue to grow for as long as conditions permit", your cigarette butt kills it in 5 seconds. As stated in Environment CENN Organization "Cigarette butts take a grand total of ten years to decompose because of cellulose acetate, contrary to the common perception that cigarette butts decompose very quickly in only a matter of days. In reality, cigarette butts are a serious threat to the environment, as they contain toxic substances like arsenic which can contaminate soil and water."
For all of these reasons, we have decided to create this campaign not just to keep our campus clean but also out of respect for our campus, wildlife, and the people around us. Our campaign focuses on more than just cleaning up. It's about changing our habits and attitudes towards littering and taking responsibility for the spaces we occupy.
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