Cleaning up after ourselves

Assalamualaikum!

Almost a month since I've written something. Not that any of you would've realised anyway =p Been kinda dry lately in the idea department, haven't had anything really to write about. Until today!

So yesterday I was out at a fast food restaurant, and you know how we normally just leave our tables after eating? We leave our mess on the table for the clean-up crew right? Well yesterday there was this guy, a foreigner at that, after eating he cleaned up after himself. He took all his waste to the rubbish bin himself. I don't recall ever seeing a local do that.

So it got me thinking. Why don't we clean up after ourselves? Sure its the job of the workers to clean the tables and what not, but is it so difficult to clean our own mess? I'm not saying we should clean other tables as well, just our own. And in restaurants where we are served on plates and nice dishes, I'm not saying we need to take our plates back to the kitchen, but the least we could do is make sure there are no food scraps lying on the table. Making life easier for others is not something that we should refrain from. If anything we should strive to try and make life easier for others.

It can apply in other scenarios too. Like if we collect recyclable materials at home to be sent to collectors, it would be better if we separated the material before sending it instead of just sending everything and leaving the collectors to sift through our waste separating it. Or if we go to cinemas, do you leave your waste at your seat after the movie or do you take it with you out of the hall and throw it away yourself? It would make life easier for the janitors who come in after every screening. When I was in school, it was compulsory for us to take our plates to the assigned basins after eating so the canteen workers wouldn't have to worry about collecting plates after recess. But in university, we normally leave our plates on the table after eating even though we know where the basins are.

Lets try to clean up after ourselves. If everyone does it it can make a real difference.

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