Litter

"We don't know how to do the globalisation, the changes we need. But humanity, we know" -
an Indian microbiology graduate on littering as an example of India's development problems.

Indians drop rubbish where they stand, wherever they stand. Its not that they are messy, or careless, the concept of littering just doesn't exist, its what is done. The one older guy I questioned on this said it wasn't worth one person changing their ways. There isn't any feeling of shame in dropping litter, its not when no-one is watching. Or urinating in the street for that matter..

In Kerala I did catch a TV advert trying to change attitudes on litter, but I'm not sure if this will happen fast enough. Even the most beautiful spots I encounter (being unable to enter the reserves) are covered in a layer of litter. The problem is the half-life. I'm not sure how many years Indians have been consuming minute plastic packaged goods, but it isn't a scratch on the lifespan of plastic in the environment. Everything is single serving, packaged separately. Enter the world of 12g packs of peanuts.

England is no model - I've seen Watford high street on sunday morning, but at least the kind of people who go to the national parks are slightly less likely to litter. I'm sure people will object to my tone, and point out that India is catching up to a more developed country. It's a problem of technology, when England was covered in filth - plastic hadn't been invented...