Rethinking Waste: A Shift in Mindset to Stop Littering

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

This morning over breakfast, I found myself pondering something that plagues communities around the world — the seemingly intractable problem of litter. Why do some people insist on carelessly tossing away their waste with such disregard for their surroundings? As I discussed the issue with an associate, an intriguing theory emerged — could society’s propensity for littering be fundamentally rooted in how we view waste itself?

All too often, the things we discard like plastic bottles, food wrappers, and containers are dismissed as useless, dirty nuisances to be rid of immediately. We’ve been culturally conditioned to see waste as having no value, something to disassociate from at all costs. But what if we could reframe our perspective and start viewing waste not as worthless refuse, but as a valuable resource stream rife with opportunities?

Studies have shown that communities which treat waste as a commodity to be harvested and repurposed tend to have significantly lower littering rates. Take the case of Curitiba, Brazil, which pioneered a program paying residents with food, transportation passes, and other essentials in exchange for their segregated waste and recyclables.[1] Reframing waste as something with financial value powerfully incentivized proper disposal.