week FORE!
This week I have been thinking a lot about a concept taught in most Economics undergrad degrees(I think I own one of these somewhere) and how it applies to litter.
The short explanation of the theory of the Tragedy of the Commons can be found here:
How could this apply to littering? It certainly can be applied to pollution(see carbon ‘tax’). Making a public space private. By this I mean, making it in the best interest of the individual to keep a shared area clean (ie litter in the park). A good example is private home ownership vs. home rental. It is in the best interest of the private homeowner to keep their property well maintained and attractive. This will lead to an increase (in theory) in resale value. For a renter, it is not in their economic best interest necessarily to maintain the property that is not theirs. They won’t see any economic advantage from maintaining the property themselves.
How can this apply to litter on public property? The short answer is...short of privatizing public spaces, I am unsure. I think this is where education and community involvement come in.
Leadership plays a huge part. I now see leadership a bit differently due to the pandemic. Many of the provincial premiers east of the Maritimes have not shown, through their own example, what is expected of their fellow citizens. Good leadership, such as that shown in the East, has set the tone for the society in general. Poor leadership, i.e.. Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C, Ontario begets poor outcomes in society. Perhaps it is more of a chicken and egg scenario, but, when it comes to litter and societal norms, good leadership, in my opinion, is crucial.
When I first saw this short film on the life of Jadav Payeng, I was struck by how this one, relatively poor man has made such a huge difference in his community, country and world. Small actions equate to huge changes and are an example of good leadership.
View the short film below, it is really worth it:
This week I had time for one big cleanup, this time at Bronte Park. For all of the talk of the Tragedy of the Commons, I am not sure what to make of this:
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| Before |
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| After |
So I turned to a blog where the author wrote about her experiences in Indonesia and the potential mindset of people that litter.
https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/hp3203-1920s1-u08/tragedy-of-the-commons/In it she argues that, although people know it is wrong, they continue to litter. One of the main points is that dirty streets/neighbourhoods encourage people to continue to litter. When people feel defeated or overwhelmed, they throw in the towel and cease to try to fix the issue.
Next week I will continue to search my brain and the brain of the world(the internet) for solutions to this ongoing problem. I will target another area to clean up and try to model good behaviour in my neighbourhood..and work off the ice cream I ate this week.
See you soon!
Sites I visited this week:
https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/hp3203-1920s1-u08/learned-helplessness/
https://www.cleanuptheworld.org/
Environmental groups seek help to catch up on cleanups
How do I get my neighbors to stop littering?
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