Cleanliness is next to holiness. Going by this saying, one wonders how godly we perceive ourselves when visiting this campus. Walking down the streets and alleys of the university grounds, one notices half-filled drink bottles and candy wrappers strewn everywhere. White spots distort the plush green scenery of fields, these unpleasant blotches are predominantly pieces of paper. Throwing rubbish in a slapdash fashion creates an eyesore.
If one tries to present an impromptu award for the cleanest lecture hall on campus, it will be surprising that no single hall will win the award. The littering situation in the institution is pathetic because lecture halls too, are victims of trash tossing. When taking a glimpse at the lecture hall, one sees spoiled assignment pages, used ballpoint pens, sweet wrappers, and tissue paper left everywhere, and yet the litter bin at the hall corner is rarely full. We have spared neither the library nor the eatery. Careless students have the audacity to leave used food trays and empty cans on the tables instead of returning them to the designated points. However, the situation in the library is fair because of the hard work of the hawk-eyed librarians.
All observations leave one foremost-unanswered question on the mind, why we do not put the provided trash cans to their rightful purpose. While pondering over this question, I decided to ask my course mates to help me understand this phenomenon. One of the responses received had to do with the trash cans themselves. Size is tremendously beneficial, as some bins are excessively small. A bin with a small circumference requires that one takes extreme care to ensure that intended rubbish lands inside it. Small bins tend to fill up faster than large ones, causing an overflow of trash. The structure of the bins is also crucial. For optimum use of bins, they should not have lids on them. Mysophobia or the fear of germs is what most students suffer from. Many opt to throw litter on the ground rather than opening the bins and putting trash inside them. This is due to the fear that they may contract some germs by touching the dustbin lids. Location of the bins also undermines their use. Location of trash cans at regular intervals is tantamount to proper utilization. This increases the likelihood of many people having easy access. Few students would be considerate enough to walk hundreds of meters just to throw a candy wrapping.
The other response obtained concerned attitude. With numerous assignments and lectures to attend, students tend to rush doing things. Lack of patience is evident especially during the examination period. They view taking the time to ensure proper rubbish disposal as a trivial thing, after all they have more serious things to do. Some students possess a carefree attitude towards cleanliness. Others see that care in disposing trash will leave the cleaners with nothing to do.
We need to address these issues to maintain cleanliness and avert health hazards that come with dirt.