Mary's Blog

Wandsworth Youth cleaning up an East Belfast car park

What is it with people that just spout rubbish while listening to the sound of their own voice? As a rule, I just listen politely.

And what is it with people that drop rubbish on the street? Should I apply the same rule? Be polite and say nothing? Surely it should be possible to say: “Would you mind picking that up?”

When walking behind some youths the other day, I was tempted to reprimand them for deliberately dropping food wrappers. I didn’t because I feared they might take offence. Instead, I picked it up and put it in a bin. Coward! How times have changed. There was a time when elders were respected.

Is there a difference between the passiveness in the face of someone talking rubbish and someone dropping rubbish?

We need to motivate our youth to invest in their future, by caring for the environment today, like these teenagers in East Belfast. Caring for the environment is not just the domain of ecologists and politicians – it is the domain of every citizen, however young or old.