One Piece of Rubbish – a poem

Cigarette butts are one of the leading causes of ocean (and planet) pollution – they are made from plastic fibres that do not decompose but rather draw further pollutants to it over time. They are easily mistaken for food by animals who have been found with heaps of our synthetic materials in their stomachs on autopsy and if that wasn’t bad enough, they look hideous littered everywhere, they won’t ever disappear and just one butt can pollute 500 litres of our clean water.


Every time I go out, I pick up at least #1pieceofrubbish , sometimes more, but never less. It feels quite good, I confess.

I don’t even have to go out of my way, because there is rubbish there every day. Whenever, all the time. Wherever I go, I find.

Today, wherever you are; whether you’re going from house to car, bus to work, or work to bar – whoever you are, just pick one piece of rubbish up this time and humanity might end up being just fine.

Without actually even going out of your way, it’s possible to claim this rubbish today, make it your piece to dispose of in a much better, a much nicer way.

Let’s get real. We can’t rely on anyone but ourselves to deal. We are responsible for how we feel, we are responsible for what we do and we are also responsible for what we do not do. So come on, this concerns you, as well as me too.

It isn’t just about who was stupid or irresponsible enough to do it first. Or even who is paid or cares enough to deal with it later. But who is wise and responsible enough to bow, and to take care of it now.

It doesn’t matter if it isn’t your ‘job’. Just walking by and doing nothing, is to shirk your responsibility as a fellow human, being and breathing on this planet. For nature will wait on no street cleaner to clock in, and fill the bin.

So become aware, grow and care. Be there to take care, grab it before the wind or rain blows it all into the drain. Because once in the city drain, it’s nothing but a shitty pain and we really have nothing to gain, just by stating our disdain.

We are accepting only short term profits, fuck it. Our waste is mismanaged by authorities, badly filtered into oceans, rivers, lakes and seas. When we’re the ones in danger, can we really do anything stranger?

All of our negligence is killing many already and slowly poisoning us painfully. No amount of money thrown at this will change our ignorant asses, and no amount of looking the other way will make any of it actually go away.

So even if I know it, I’m not really a poet.
I beg of you, I pray. Make today a useful day. Make it the day that you bow down, turn it around, take some rubbish out of town, even if it’s not yours anyway.
🌊

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