Discarding Chewing Gum in Public Areas

Mirrors of our attitudes towards the environment

Modern consumer society has yet to establish a fully sustainable relationship with the natural and cultural environments. This time, however, we are not talking about major polluters and factors that destroy the environment, but about various everyday “minor” actions that frequently grow to enormous dimensions and demonstrate how civilised – or uncivilised – we really are.

The efforts of chewing gum manufacturers – or their gum-chewing customers – are proudly displayed on pavements and in other public spaces. It is interesting to note how it is often the pavements in front of schools that are most likely to be adorned with discarded gum.

The façades of numerous residential and other buildings, walls, bridges and underpasses have become a constant target of vandals armed with spray cans. This is something different from graffiti as a genre of contemporary artistic creativity in the urban environment, or the expression of views on current events and society as a form of non-verbal communication.

Despite numerous warnings, cigarette butts are still being thrown from car windows. Even more serious are the many cases of fly-tipping and illegal waste dumps, frequently in the most unspoilt corners of the natural environment.

Strolling through our country’s woods and clearings, along the banks of rivers or the shores of lakes, we are frequently surprised and astonished at how people have managed to transport all manner of household objects to these virgin environments. Clean-up campaigns are organised every year. In other words, once a year we clean up everything we have dragged into the countryside or hidden corners of the urban environment over the past year.

Last but not least, is the question of food waste, an issue to which we have been devoting increasing attention in Slovenia in recent years. Given the title of the stamp series and the message contained in the old Slovene proverb, we must therefore ask ourselves which we have a greater abundance of: donkeys or donkey hair? The answer is short and clear: both!

Janez Bogataj