Previous Issues
Oh no, not again!
?That might be the opinion of many people when they see that the subject of this editorial is the litter that abounds on our downtown streets and country byways.
We understand, because that's how we feel about having to write what is becoming an almost annual complaint about the mess that is uncovered when the snow and ice melts and reveals what lies beneath.
Early spring is ugly enough already, what with newly exposed gardens and lawns looking unkempt and forlorn, curbsides covered in ugly grey sand and gravel left behind by township trucks trying to fight ice and snow on the roads, and trees standing stark and bare against the skyline, waiting for new growth to begin.
But when litter and garbage of every conceivable kind drifts along our streets, fills ditches alongside the highways and collects in parking lots around town, the ugliness becomes almost unbearable.
What is it about us that makes us feel we don't have to be as conscientious about using litter bins in the winter? Do we, collectively, really believe that it's okay to litter as long as the snow covers it up?
We suppose that, instead of whining about the litter springing up (pardon the pun) every year, we could just do our part and pick up litter when we see it. But that would be a gargantuan task, not to mention being a dirty, disgusting job.
The problem is, we have no idea what the solution is to this annual problem. Heaven knows, there are more than enough litter bins on the downtown streets, although we feel municipal workers could empty them a lot more frequently. We know that our schools are supposed to be teaching good character traits such as respect for others. We know the cost of picking up our weekly garbage isn't so exorbitant that it drives people to dispose of their garbage bags in country ditches. And we know of no one who will admit that he or she is an unrepentant litterer.
So where is it coming from, who is putting it there and who should be cleaning it up? But, more importantly, we should all be asking ourselves, why is it there?
We sometimes wonder whether certain establishments should either be required to send out workers to clean up litter or pay extra in taxes to cover the cost of cleanup. We're talking about fast food restaurants, places that sell candy bars and cigarettes and canned or bottled soft drinks. Naturally, the proprietors of those establishments would cry “Foul”, but there is no getting away from the fact that that is where most of the litter comes from.
Of course, it's never going to happen, just as the municipal government isn't going to pay for cigarette butt containers outside bars, restaurants or any other building where smokers - forced outside to indulge their habit - leave behind mounds of evidence to show that smokers might be dying, but smoking is not.
Ah well, give us another year and we can whine again.
