It was October of 2006. I remember the month because the passenger sitting in front of me was eating lazones. We were inside a jeepney stationed at the Alabang Market, when he started peeling his fruits. After finishing on one, he casually tossed the skin outside the vehicle.
The jeepney started moving and I furiously watched the passenger eat his lanzones one by one and throw skins outside the road. Peel, eat, and throw, the cycle went on until he finished his bunch. He was like Hansel leaving bread crumbs behind to create a pathway back home.
Littering is never a normal activity to me. I don’t get used to seeing people flip away scraps of garbage as if it were a natural thing to do. I am appalled every time I find someone doing this outrageous act. What is it with people and littering? What is the psychology behind the act of intentionally throwing waste outside a garbage can? Is it a form of rebellion? Is it an outlet of pent up emotion and frustration towards life or nature? What’s with Rommel that he flipped his C2 bottle out on the open field? Why can’t call center smokers throw their cigarette butts in a trash can?
Apparently it is a Filipino mind set, especially those in the provinces, that condones littering in the reason that what comes out of earth, should return to earth. What the earth produces can be destroyed also by the earth. So anybody can toss whatever wherever without guilt. Take note that this argument covers only biodegradable materials and decomposition only works if the material is thrown in a healthy soil.
Such a mind set is no longer fits the ways of our time. Our civilization has developed chemically processed materials with complex compositions. The byproducts of our industrialization are seldom biodegradable and most of the time toxic and hazardous to animal health. When was the last time you held a 100% biodegradable material? When was the last time you walked on fresh soil? Fine, lanzones skin is purely natural, but you’re throwing it on cemented road. What are the chances of it finding its way to soil?
The progress of technology is alongside with the progress of our culture and one of their products is the trash can. It’s the place where we put materials we no longer need. Things deemed to be ‘garbage’. The act of throwing inside a trash can is part of the garbage disposal system humans have invented so that we won’t be like animals recklessly and unknowingly scattering our surroundings.
I have this new project (sana matuloy :D) called “Handa Ka Na Ba Maging Tao?” It’s an exhibition of photographs capturing everyday human beings doing things you thought humans would never dare do in the 21st century. Things like sticking gum on the wall and underneath chairs, vandalizing walls with lewd images of the human reproductive system, and the most common would be littering plastic.
What has become of our society? Have we progressed or regressed? The actions we dare do will be the defining factor of our future.
COMMENT:
The scope of my piece broadened as it developed. I began inserting points coming from different angles that I wasn’t able to achieve total coherence of thought. If I would rewrite this, I would probably come up with two essays. It seems that I have produced a Venn diagram of ideas and reflections. It was fun writing it though.
The jeepney started moving and I furiously watched the passenger eat his lanzones one by one and throw skins outside the road. Peel, eat, and throw, the cycle went on until he finished his bunch. He was like Hansel leaving bread crumbs behind to create a pathway back home.
Littering is never a normal activity to me. I don’t get used to seeing people flip away scraps of garbage as if it were a natural thing to do. I am appalled every time I find someone doing this outrageous act. What is it with people and littering? What is the psychology behind the act of intentionally throwing waste outside a garbage can? Is it a form of rebellion? Is it an outlet of pent up emotion and frustration towards life or nature? What’s with Rommel that he flipped his C2 bottle out on the open field? Why can’t call center smokers throw their cigarette butts in a trash can?Apparently it is a Filipino mind set, especially those in the provinces, that condones littering in the reason that what comes out of earth, should return to earth. What the earth produces can be destroyed also by the earth. So anybody can toss whatever wherever without guilt. Take note that this argument covers only biodegradable materials and decomposition only works if the material is thrown in a healthy soil.
Such a mind set is no longer fits the ways of our time. Our civilization has developed chemically processed materials with complex compositions. The byproducts of our industrialization are seldom biodegradable and most of the time toxic and hazardous to animal health. When was the last time you held a 100% biodegradable material? When was the last time you walked on fresh soil? Fine, lanzones skin is purely natural, but you’re throwing it on cemented road. What are the chances of it finding its way to soil?
The progress of technology is alongside with the progress of our culture and one of their products is the trash can. It’s the place where we put materials we no longer need. Things deemed to be ‘garbage’. The act of throwing inside a trash can is part of the garbage disposal system humans have invented so that we won’t be like animals recklessly and unknowingly scattering our surroundings.
I have this new project (sana matuloy :D) called “Handa Ka Na Ba Maging Tao?” It’s an exhibition of photographs capturing everyday human beings doing things you thought humans would never dare do in the 21st century. Things like sticking gum on the wall and underneath chairs, vandalizing walls with lewd images of the human reproductive system, and the most common would be littering plastic.
What has become of our society? Have we progressed or regressed? The actions we dare do will be the defining factor of our future.
COMMENT:
The scope of my piece broadened as it developed. I began inserting points coming from different angles that I wasn’t able to achieve total coherence of thought. If I would rewrite this, I would probably come up with two essays. It seems that I have produced a Venn diagram of ideas and reflections. It was fun writing it though.
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