Littering is a health hazard

AS their vehicle pulled away from the traffic lights, the little girl tossed a plastic juice bottle out the window onto the pavement. She saw nothing wrong with that, and I wonder if the parent, if he noticed, reprimanded her.

It is an everyday sight, people throwing their rubbish all over the place. In the Joburg city centre, at the end of the day, the place looks abysmal. The taxi ranks are particularly unspeakable, even though there are bins provided for commuters to place their rubbish. Some litterbugs argue that they do this to keep street cleaners employed.

I think it’s time to reimplement the effective 1980s anti-litter awareness campaign with the catchy slogan “Zap It In The Zibi Can”. It featured a little ostrich with a broom and a dustbin. The artist who drew it was Dov Fedler, a former editorial cartoonist at The Star.

Littering is not just unsightly and a health hazard, it is a bad habit.

Our oceans are a mass of pollution that pose a serious threat to marine life. Those plastic bags, bottles, plastic cups and plastic straws end up in our river systems and seas, and are particularly dangerous in the water as they can enter the food chain.

As the ditty used to say, just zap it in the Zibi bin.