Boomers aren't the litterers nowadays.
by Gareth E on 23/03/2023
Boomers weren't angels who didn't litter when we were young. But unlike some of today's youth, neither did we slanderously accuse older generations of wrecking the environment while we wrecked it ourselves.
Certainly, there was concern. A string of hit records focused on the issue. The Hedgehoppers Anonymous' hit It's Good News Week, Dave Edmunds with Down By The River, Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi to name a few.
In the mid-1960s in South Australia an organisation called KESAB was formed to push the anti-littering message. This was an acronym for Keep South Australia Beautiful. Their adverts on TV and elsewhere had strong impact for many years. This was assisted greatly by the fact that there were hardly any fast food outlets besides the local fish 'n' chip shops scattered about the place. Cigarette butts and empty packets were among the most common items of litter, along with soft drink and beer bottles.
Along came fast-food chains. McDonalds, Hungry Jack's and KFC all appeared, along with pizza chain stores. Even so, the problem wasn't that great in the early days, although single-use plastics began to grow rapidly as an issue.
Fast forward to the internet era and despite much hullaballoo about the environment, we are seeing discarded food and drink containers everywhere. Boomers aren't responsible for this mess. Younger generations are causing it. On weekdays at 3.30 PM in major shopping shopping centres there are school kids lined up at fast food outlets. Dozens of them tuck into burgers and KFC, Wendy's ice cream, etc.
Where do they get the money? We never had that sort of cash to blow on junk food, even if it had been as readily available as it is now. Who is teaching them nutrition? Who is teaching them financial wisdom? No one, apparently.
Who is teaching them about caring for the environment? Watching them walk home with a bag of junk food and observing what they do with the left-overs and packaging when they've eaten enough and don't want any more, the truth of it becomes clear. They chuck it on the ground.
Whatever the young are being taught about saving the planet, the message is bouncing off. They talk the talk, condemning boomers as part of the narrative. However, they don't walk the talk.