Pick up a piece a day

It’s easy to ignore, but it’s there, and we should all play our part to get rid of it. I’m talking about litter, trash, garbage, waste.

Call it what you like, but we should not walk by when we see it.

That’s why we’re launching our Litter by Little campaign, in which we encourage everyone who sees litter to pick up at least a piece a day, every day.

This isn’t just a feelgood exercise to make our streets, beaches and walking areas look pretty. Picking up litter means one less item that could make its way into our waterways, including our beautiful harbour, our beaches, or any other environment.

And, as litter crusader Alan Samson, pictured right, shows us, it can even be beneficial to your health.

In our series starting today, we’ll look at how bad our litter problem is and what the ‘‘main offender’’ items are. We’ll also show what people can do at the individual level to make a big difference with a small effort.

We will look at overseas examples that work in reducing what rubbish causes the most problems – and it’s not just plastic.

Of course, we must reduce the amount of rubbish that we create, but we must also collectively take responsibility for it when it’s not properly disposed of.

Changing habits can be hard, but together we can make a huge difference by picking up a piece a day – Litter by Little.