And even worse when it is done in front of your children.

When I was a kid I was taught not to litter.

It was a simple rule that my parents enforced. 

And it’s been the same message for decades.

There is nothing new about not littering.

In fact, we are now much more aware of how incredibly harmful rubbish is to our environment and to our animals.

Not only does litter and rubbish look dirty and messy; it can kill and it does kill.

Driving up the highway, just minding our own business recently, a can of energy drink comes hurtling towards our windscreen.

It didn’t come so close that it could have actually hit our vehicle, but it was close enough that I could see the label.

A moment later, out of the same window come what looks like little pieces of paper.

Some land on the bonnet of my car and the others are sent flying to the side of the road, the same place where the can of fizzy drink has ended up. 

I felt myself getting so angry at the white utility driving in front of me.

Who on earth in this day and age throws rubbish out of a car window?

As we drove past this ute, I couldn’t help but glare at the driver. His window was wound down so he was able to get a good look at the middle-aged woman and her two children giving him a filthy look. I’m pretty sure he had no idea why this family wagon was full of angry people glaring his way.

In disbelief my young sons both exclaimed in unison that the culprit was an adult.

In their minds, children can be excused for bad behaviour because they are still learning. 

But adults… they should know by now what is right and what is wrong.

This bloke, probably aged in his early 30s, had thrown rubbish out of his car window without one moment’s thought about how his action would impact our environment. Not to mention how it could impact the cars driving behind him.

There are just so many simple things we can all do that can have a huge impact on our state, the environment around us, and indeed our world.

How hard is it to keep your rubbish in the car and dispose of it at a later date?

The one point that did make me happy as we continued our drive up the highway was the fact that my kids were so disgusted with the man who threw the rubbish out of the window of his car. 

Maybe where my generation is apparently failing, the next generation will hopefully get it right.