Litter Bugged.



The food court is cleaner than it gets credit for; especially in this entomologists dream, commonly known as Harrow Town Centre. The cleaners deserve credit. Throughout many afternoon lunches, I have sat here watching the masses gorge on KFC and Burger King, then leave their rubbish on the tables; as if it wasn’t their responsibility to clear a table, perfectly clean and clear before they arrived. I guess it isn’t, but putting rubbish into bins just seems like common courtesy to me. Leaving cups or plates in restaurants I can understand, as they need to be washed and reused, and there are no public areas created solely for used cutlery and such. But empty packets of Chicken buckets, burger wrappers, or discard-able cardboard beakers? It’s even more confusing when bins are provided never more than ten feet away, as well as plastic trays to discard them with.

For me, this is one of those small peeves of frustration I have with elements of human nature. You see, I don’t believe the vast majority who leave their garbage on the tables do so out of abject laziness. More so an ignorance in the knowledge there is someone there designated to clean it up; their philosophy being one of "they have cleaners they pay to clean, so I can make as much a mess as I wish to." While this is certainly true, there are also cleaners who work outdoors; but it doesn’t give me the right to piss on the street and justify it, by suggesting it keeps the less-qualified in gainful employment. By this logic, career criminals should be invited to every Policeman's ball going.

Percentage wise, I would say about 15% of food court visitors clean up after themselves; the rest, do not. The ones that do come in all ages, cultures, dress styles, you name it. The ones who don’t? It’s practically the same problem. There is however a definite trend for teenage groups to be almost brazen in littering; making me wonder if the parents have spoiled them too much, for their developing brains to learn a respect for the lives of others - a pretty negative value to teach anyone. Unfortunately, this attitude becomes their norm, and the art of being irresponsible transcends into adulthood. Litter on buses, weights left on gym floors, public toilets coated in human faeces, piles of carpets and urine stained beds born from fly-tipping, items of stock in stores damaged then placed back on shelves, etc; it leaves those who want a clean and habitable world, constantly having to clear up for those who, quite frankly, couldn't give a shit.

Not cleaning up after ourselves has become a socially acceptable activity; at least in the urban cesspit known as North-West London. And there is no reason for it to change; London is a busy city, and I doubt most are aware of the problem - or see it as their job to fix. Still, I wish one day to teach my future children both the value of respecting themselves, and the world which surrounds them; even if many do not. We are guests here, and guests in other people houses do not leave their shit lying around, so why should we? I know this may come across as a little preachy, and maybe it is. But the world could be such a more liveable place, if we all just cleaned up after ourselves.

The food court is cleaner than it gets credit for; especially in this entomologists dream, commonly known as Harrow Town Centre. I guess they need people to be lazy and irresponsible, in order to show how successful a job of cleaning they do. I guess I shouldn't complain. They are only human like the rest of us. I just wish the world around me was a lot cleaner, than it actually is...

Lee.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this article Lee, a very good read. I hope you do get this message. From Clevelet (lady of colour at star bucks) ps. I was sent a really good email about making money from blogging. ive watched it twice I strongly feel that it would be fantastic for you. Regards.



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  2. Your welcome Clevelet. As far as the link is concerned, thanks for the idea, but the Empower network is a pyramid scheme for blogging - essentially rendering it a scam. Google it for and take a look. I never invest in anything without giving it due consideration and research first. Remember my 3000 word plan!

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