Is it possible to work a construction job, leaving all kinds of waste in the air, buried in the ground, etc, while still considering yourself an environmentalist?

Expending so much fuel to build environments for highly populated locations, in turn producing extreme amounts of waste, etc. I like to think that I do my small part by picking up empty trash and bottles from the worksite instead of burying them or leaving them to be washed away by the rain, but then what happens? They go to a landfill? Is that really any better?