Sometimes I get nervous when I stay at work after dark. You never know what could go wrong. Murderers, ghosts, Internet outages. Last Thursday night one of my worst fears came to life.

Someone stuck used gum on the fire alarm in the office.

There are two trashcans inside the office and a bathroom across the hall, but this person decided to remove the gum from his or her mouth and place it on the wall.

Not only is this disgusting, but it’s also disrespectful.

This begs the question why people think it’s okay to do something like that, to leave trash around or to litter the outdoors.

You may think it’s no big deal because you’re only one person and it was only one paper cup, right? But what about all the other people who thought the same exact thing?

Then there are all the people before and after you who committed the same offense – leaving Styrofoam food containers in a parking lot, tossing gum wrappers out of their car window or unsuccessfully throwing balled up paper at a trashcan.

It adds up. Outdoor littering can kill animals, harm plant life and even hurt humans. When garbage is littered it can stunt plant growth or prevent it from flourishing in certain areas.

According to a study by Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation, few people think about the biological harm done by litter as opposed to the aesthetic harm.

It costs the city a lot more money to clean up litter every year than it costs to invest in a recycling bin or biodegradable trash bags.

Litter can make its way onto the roads and cause accidents. How many times have you swerved to avoid boxes or debris in the middle of the street? Or had to replace tires after driving over broken shards of glass?

Small animals could crawl into bottle or small containers and get stuck. Insects could get caught in something sticky and die. Bugs are gross, but they don’t need to die because someone couldn’t find a trashcan.

Dolphins and turtles regularly fall victim to plastic six-pack rings. Not only that, but the ocean is their home. It’s their habitat being disrespected and damaged. That’s like walking into someone else’s dorm and throwing garbage on the floor.

Just because it’s someone’s job to clean an area does not mean you can disregard how you treat it.

Don’t make a janitor’s job harder by leaving things around. Clean up after yourself. It may be a janitor’s job to pick that gum off the fire alarm, but he or she shouldn’t have to because it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Remember that time you accidentally touched old used gum under a desk and your entire world came crashing down? That’s how the janitor might feel.

There is never a reason to litter. Fight the urge. Find a recycling bin or reuse. Not only does repurposing products like glass or plastic bottles save money, but it’s a creative outlet and a way to channel your energy into something productive.

Make a mirror out of old spoons, a bulletin board out of wine corks or lotion out of coffee grinds.

Make beauty, don’t destroy it.