One evening, while returning home, I noticed a…

One evening, while returning home, I noticed a large amount of plastic waste lying near a public water tap. People were walking past it, including me.

Initially, I ignored it. I thought someone else would clean it.The next morning, the waste was still there. It had been scattered across the road, and some of it had entered the nearby drain.

I felt that I could no longer complain about the condition if I was not willing to do anything myself. So I collected the plastic bottles and wrappers and put them into a nearby dustbin.

It took me less than ten minutes.While I was doing it, a person passing by asked, “Why are you doing this? Someone is paid to clean it.”His question made me think.

Yes, sanitation workers are responsible for cleaning public areas, but that does not mean we have the right to createmore waste. Keeping our surroundings clean is also our responsibility.The incident was small, but it changed one habit of mine. I became moreconscious about where I threw things and started carrying waste with me when there was no dustbin nearby.carry it. When I wipe my hands with a napkin after a street-side snack, that sticky napkin stays with me until I get home.

At first, it felt a bit inconvenient. My friends would laugh when I pulled out a receipt, an apple core, and two bottle caps just to find my keys. But over time, that minor inconvenience turned into aquiet sense of pride. Carrying my own waste made me realize just how much single-use garbage we generate without a second thought. It forced me to takefull responsibility for my own footprint, ensuring that my trash actually ends up where it belongs, rather than becoming someone else's problem on the street.