Recently I went to watch a movie at Star Cineplex at Al Wahda Road, Sharjah.  After the movie, I was saddened to see glass bottles, plastic bottles, chips wrappers and all sorts of litter thrown all around the road. It was such an unpleasant sight and I wondered how can people lack basic civic sense.  When will people realise that cleanliness is next to godliness and it's their responsibility to not only keep their homes clean but also the roads where they walk. While I was just staring at the litter, I saw a middle aged man drinking water from bottle and after finishing it, he simply flunged the empty plastic bottle on to the road. Soon after,  he threw his empty chips wrapper on the pavement.  I was very upset on seeing this and immediately went and picked up what he threw.  He looked at me and asked "Why are you picking it, do you need these, they are empty".  I said, "No Uncle, I don't like them thrown around like these, it presents such an ugly look and we should keep the place clean. Also Uncle plastic bottles are recycleable , should not be discarded, they should be collected and given for recycling to help protect environment". He listened to me patiently and probably realized it. He told me "I will pick the waste thrown by me, I am sorry, I shouldn't have been so careless."  I don't know if he learnt a lesson for a lifetime and will be careful in disposing his waste throughout his life but one thing I am sure that next time he will think twice before throwing litter in open.  I just hope that he becomes mindful towards environment.

It' really sad that inspite of so many awareness campaigns by municipalities, Bee'ah(Sharjah's environment and waste management company), and even reports by media , people don't learn to respect and protect environment by keeping all the places clean.

I decided to urge people to be responsible citizens and dispose their waste mindfully-by writing through the 'Community Report' section of our national newspaper 'Gulf News'. The same was published today. Below is the link :

http://gulfnews.com/your-say/your-reports/keeping-the-environment-clean-1.1865947

I sincerely hope that it helps to inspire people to keep places clean and not throw away litter so carelessly.

People can carry empty bags with them to collect their litter and when their return to their homes, they can sort out the recycleables.

As I always say - Our every action impacts environment.  Please ask yourself 3 questions before doing anything in daily lives –Is it necessary? , What will be it's impact on environment?  And Is there a better/eco-friendlier option? All of us are stakeholders in environment. If it's deteriorating , we all are and will suffer as it will aggravate menace like global warming, outburst of diseases etc. If the environment is clean and safe, we will be happy breathing a clean air, walking through clean roads and living a longer and healthier life.