Cross-Cultural Blog

I agree with your comments. People will always do what is most convenient. If more trash cans are provided, more people will use them. This is actually still a problem in the United States, but not as much in terms of littering. Rather, it is a problem with recycling. Many cities and public places only have trash cans, but do not have recycling cans. I think that if recycling cans were provided in more places, more people would use them.

But many people are not conscientious enough to hold on to, say, a plastic water bottle until they get home to recycle it. Instead, they just throw it into an ordinary trash can.

I also think you are correct about people becoming accustomed to what is habitual, and that often times legal measures are what are required in order to make change.

Or, better habits could be taught to children. For example, at my elementary school, we would have been disciplined for throwing trash on the ground!

Before I see the blog, I don't know the street of Egyp is dirty.
Egypt is a sacred place in my mind.

I think that people can change the bad habit about throw garbage.
People throw garbage anywhere, then just put a trash can anywhere.
If somebody don't compliance, give a punishment.
Likes Singapore, punishable by fine or clearn the streets.

This post reminds me of the summer I visited China. I had the opportunity to take a trip to see the Great Wall. On the car trip there, I remember being stunned by the gorgeous scenery. The jade green mountains were teeming with wildlife including a huge variety of pretty wildflowers and large, beautiful butterflies. On the way home, we stopped at a roadside cafe tucked into the mountains that serves travelers like us. After we finished eating, I was shocked to discover that they literally threw the trash (including candy wrappers) into the mountains.

I believe the reason for this is that nobody has ever educated them about littering. Also, the locals have lived in the mountains their entire lives and they probably no longer appreciate their surroundings. If there was an educational program that taught people to keep the streets clean, the problem could be drastically reduced. Such programs have already come into effect with great success including in Beijing during the recent Olympics.

This brings up a very interesting issue. Is this a common habit, or does throwing trash out onto the street happen mostly in poor areas? Since many steps are taken to prevent people from leaving garbage on the streets here (laws, public trash cans, garbage pick-up, education, etc.), I have imagined what people's behavior would be like if there were less action taken against littering. I had assumed that if garbage were not regularly picked up, as it is now, then people would be able to see how much trash they are producing and possibly change their habits to reduce their trash. What your blog suggests to me is that there is no way for people to completely stop making trash. It would be interesting to compare how much trash is produced on average per person in a major U.S. city and Cairo, for example.

This brings up a very interesting issue. Is this a common habit, or does throwing trash out onto the street happen mostly in poor areas? Since many steps are taken to prevent people from leaving garbage on the streets here (laws, public trash cans, garbage pick-up, education, etc.), I have imagined what people's behavior would be like if there were less action taken against littering. I had assumed that if garbage were not regularly picked up, as it is now, then people would be able to see how much trash they are producing and possibly change their habits to reduce their trash. What your blog suggests to me is that there is no way for people to completely stop making trash. It would be interesting to compare how much trash is produced on average per person in a major U.S. city and Cairo, for example.

I was drawn to your blog post primarily because I dealt with a similar issue in an area called Columbia Heights in Washington, DC. I am from Washington, DC and while I was a student in high school there, I worked for a community organization called the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) as a community organizer in Columbia Heights. One of the central objectives of community organizers is to mobilize the local citizens to actively take responsibility for the well-being of their communities. The pervasiveness of trash on the streets was the first issue Columbia Heights residents wanted to confront; pollution and littering were so common that the air smelled and the citizens were ashamed of the conditions of their community. We got our mayor to invest in establishing trash cans on every block as well as recycling bins for paper and bottles. With some massive cleaning efforts and some recycling workshops, the community of Columbia Heights transformed within a couple of months. Perhaps you could try a similar initiative in an area close to you? No one should have to live in these types of conditions; few people can fully appreciate how greatly a clean environment contributes to the morale of any community unless they too have lived in polluted and heavily littered areas. If this is something you're passionate about, I would suggest that you go to a nearby community that suffers from much pollution and talk to some of the residents. If you could organize even 20 residents who are unhappy with their living conditions, I bet you could push local representatives to invest in more trash cans. If that doesn't work, you and your team of residents could raise money to establish trash cans and recycling bins yourselves. Trash cans and recycling bins should be easily available in every neighborhood. See what you can do to make these areas better and cleaner. I bet that there are many more people who are dissatisfied with the pollution and who would work with you to establish trash and recycling bins in areas that lack them.

we though that america was bad. i wonder how much Egypt is effecting global warming hmmmm...

we though that america was bad. i wonder how much Egypt is effecting global warming hmmmm...

we though that america was bad. i wonder how much Egypt is effecting global warming hmmmm...

we though that america was bad. i wonder how much Egypt is effecting global warming hmmmm...

we though that america was bad. i wonder how much Egypt is effecting global warming hmmmm...

we though that america was bad. i wonder how much Egypt is effecting global warming hmmmm...

I believe everywhere in the world you will see such places . for example italy was suffering like two years ago from the same problem and it was covered by the media .. and the point that in such country there is no technologyes to work with garbage .. and about effecting the warming these will not count against the industry in america

Its insane how bad we are affecting the environment everyday. I don't think it will ever get better. Its one of those things where people won't do anything about it until its too late. However in this case, once its too late, there is no correcting it, which is a shame.

garbage msy become big problem in many of big cities in the world includingin my country Jakarta..i think a good waste management should be applied considering increasing population in big cities..recycle industry could be a solution for handling garbage problems in big cities..perhaps can be applied in Egypt too..

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