Cleaning Up

October 23, 2007 - 10:43 AM by

My son is only three years old, yet he’s already prepared to tell anyone who asks that people who throw garbage on the ground are “STUPID PEOPLE”. Given the repulsive prevalence of littering that exists throughout Israel, I made a decision to reinforce the way I feel about this phenomenon using “harsh” language, as I wanted him to understand in no uncertain terms that littering is simply unacceptable. While out walking with my son, I often grumbled about all the trash that was strewn about, but my decision to emphasize the word “stupid” was made when I was forced one evening to move a mattress off the sidewalk in our neighborhood so that my son could pass on his bicycle. The location was notorious for the copious amounts of refuse that could be found there, everything from furniture to old video cassettes, and virtually anything in between, and I was shocked that people felt that it was acceptable to use the spot as their own private dumping ground.

Of course, I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised. Many Israelis seem to have little regard for that which lies outside their homes, whether it be their own neighborhoods, city streets, or playgrounds. Last Saturday, I took my son to a local playground, and in addition to running from swing to seesaw, he could also be found picking up bits of garbage and throwing them in the multitude of bins, mumbling about “STUPID KIDS” as he worked. With a smile, I realized that our carefully crafted message had sunk in, that we had managed to instill an important value.

Apparently, we’re not the only ones, though. More than 170,000 volunteers recently collected nearly 1,400 tons of garbage in parks and nature areas around the country as part of the International “Clean Up the World” events, organized locally by the Jewish National Fund for the seventh year in a row. In addition, “Hop!” (only in Hebrew for now, sorry), the local toddler channel here in Israel is doing its best to inspire the kiddies to develop awareness for environmental issues, periodically broadcasting a clip full of children singing about the importance of taking care of planet earth. While singing and dancing, they promote recycling, the importance of throwing garbage in garbage bins, not picking flowers, and generally keeping the world clean. The children are beautiful, and the song is catchy and memorable. Hopefully, the message will catch on among Israel’s youngest generation, and we won’t have to resort to this…

Iron Eye Cody

Tags: • Category: General, Israeliness, Life 

Comments

2 Comments on Cleaning Up

  1. Myrthe on Wed, Oct 24th 2007 10:39 AM

    2. Well done, for teaching your son about where garbage does belong! We have the same problem here in Armenia where people throw everything on the street. When you go have a picknick or a barbecue, you just have to count on having to clean the area first. It’s pretty sad.

  2. RR on Thu, Oct 25th 2007 11:07 PM

    3. Your kid is a riot! I like his style!

    It’s a godawful problem in this country. Once, in a park, I saw a haredi guy take the wrapper off some food item and just throw it on the ground without even bothering to look for a garbage can. Was I angry! I yelled after him, “Slicha, you dropped something!” Naturally, he ignored me.

    And thanks for that blast from the past- I certainly remember that commercial from when I was a kid!

Leave a Comment





© 2012 ISRAELITY | Sitemap