Broken Window Theory Applies to Litter Too
Walk through your local city during the early hours of the dawn and you’ll meet various pedestrian road sweepers meandering around cleaning up the rubbish left from all the partying of the previous night. It’s an emblematic early daybreak setting, particularly the beeping noise! We don’t often give rubbish a consideration as we take for granted it will all be cleaned up for us.
However, there is a sometimes imperceptible yet important influence litter plays on human psychology. Individuals are more liable to think an area is lacking law and order if litter is strewn around, and so felons see litter as a potential indication for an opportunity of a break-in, a mugging, or car-theft. The same sign instills some concern in other individuals who worry they might be passing through a more risky neighbourhood and are concerned about possibly being robbed.
Not only that, but also the influence on the visual appeal of an area. Litter strewn around can make an area seem unkempt even if it’s just been “abused” by party revellers from the night before. This can hurt the reputation of a location if people are only within the area for this particular time and only view it in its disheveled state.
There’s absolutely no reason to drop rubbish if there are empty bins in the area. If there is a lack of litter bins, or the bins that are there are brimming, this is a problem to address the local council with. Trashing an area has a damaging influence on everyone.
