Bottle Litter
I was walking along a neighbourhood the other day and saw this empty bottle of beer on the floor. It's not unusual to find several bottles like the one, often already broken, scattered along the floor, especially in alleyways. I stopped to take this photo because of the aesthetics. I usually take such photos when I see them, but it got me thinking about the mind of the person that left the bottle there. What was on their mind when they did it?
Irresponsible
This person does not see themselves as being a part of a collective responsibility, hence they don't see themselves as responsible for a clean and safe neighbourhood. Perhaps they're not from that neighbourhood, or they don't feel invested in it. This is common with people that rent rather than buy into a community. Nothing wrong with renters, but this behaviour has been observed more in people that don't feel they have a stake in a residential community.
Nonchalant
This person simply doesn't care about, or never puts a thought into, the harm they may be doing to the community by leaving a bottle on the floor. It's litter, so it visually pollutes the environment. It is also very likely to break, at which point it becomes a health and safety hazard to member of the community.
Malicious
This person has deliberately done this because they actively hate the community, hence have no qualms littering it. Having said that, I would expect the bottle to already be broken since they probably would have thrown the bottle at the wall or something to that effect.
Uncultured
This person grew up in a place where this is acceptable behaviour, hence don't see it as anything wrong. This is an unfortunately large section of the population of London, and the most likely scenario here. It's kind of a controversial topic to talk about, since it comes with all manner of politically incorrect insinuations, but it's just the truth.
Drunk
This person was drunk, especially considering the previous content of the bottle, and thus none of the above aforementioned points necessarily apply.
Litter and human sociology /
I came across this fantastic blog post that talks about an experiment in two different neighbourhoods in the Untied States; one affluent and the other poor. It references the "Broken Window Theory" which is an interesting theory that explains why large congested cities, particularly inner cities, are so dirty and sometimes crime-ridden.
I think the sociological aspect of the theory can also be applied to entire nations that suffer from the same triggers of neglect and apparent impunity. If a populace believe their government or the authorities are not taking care of them, but instead are plundering the national resources, then they're unlikely to care or feel patriotic about their countries. They may even go as far as hating their countries or be more likely to commit crimes of opportunity since "the government themselves are doing it". This can develop into a culture of antisocial behaviour such as littering frivolously and frequently engaging in petty crime.
Peace & Love,
Adé