Doing Your Part To Minimize Litter

I received a personal note and a news clipping from WV State Delegate Dale Stephens, yesterday. Along with his legislative responsibilities, Dale is a volunteer "Litter-Gitter" with our local Adopt YOUR Block - Be a Litter-Gitter group. There are 1222 volunteer Litter-Gitters at this writing. The article Dale sent me was from the editors of The Environmental Magazine.

In part, the article said what we all know - litter is a nasty side effect of our convenience-oriented disposal culture. Just to highlight the scope of the problem, California alone spends $28 million a year cleaning up and removing litter along its roadways.

And once trash gets free, wind and weather move it from streets and highways to parks and waterways. One study found that 18 percent of litter ends up in rivers, streams and oceans.

As I preach all of the time, as a litter abatement Evangelist, cigarette butts, snack wrappers and take-out food and beverage containers are the most commonly littered items. Cigarette butts are one of the most insidious forms of litter: Each discarded butt takes 12 years to break down, all the while leaching toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into soil and waterways.

The article concludes that doing our part to keep litter to a minimum is easy, but it takes vigilance. For starters, never let trash escape from your car, or the open bed of your truck. Just as importantly, make sure your household garbage containers are sealed tightly so animals can't get at the contents. Always remember to take your garbage with you upon leaving one of our area parks or other public spaces.

If you're still smoking, isn't saving the environment a compelling enough reason to finally quit? Also, if that stretch of roadway you drive every day to work is a haven for litter, offer to clean it up and keep it clean. I will gladly give you a "Volunteer" safety vest and a litter-stick. The stick has a trigger and prongs on the end - so you don't have to bend over or touch anything. Call me at 523-7902, and I will gladly give you this equipment - free of charge.

Of course, we encourage our Adopt YOUR block volunteers to adopt their own block and no other place. However, if your block is always clean and neat, why not adopt a "spot" or a short section of a roadway? Together, we can make our area shine once again.