We’re not sure what happened to winter while it has certainly been chilly, the absence of snow has been weird to say the least. Even the die-hard snow haters are commenting on the very little just enough to be annoying snow we have had. But whether you love snow or hate it, one thing is certain it tends to hide the trash that litters our roadsides every day of the year.
And now that the last remnants of ice/snow are disappearing, we can make up for some of the exercise we missed by not shoveling or having anywhere to ski or snowshoe by engaging in a new winter activity picking up the fast food containers, coffee cups and beer cans that end up in ditches and along our roads. We’ve been seeing all kinds of things popping up along the road and we don’t mean spring flowers.
The mess along our streets paints a picture that is far from pretty. It’s disheartening to realize how many people are dumping trash and garbage from their cars as they drive by. And even sadder is the realization that much of what’s tossed could easily have been recycled.
Most towns have some sort of spring cleanup. And they all offer a way to recycle, whether by putting out recycling containers with the weekly trash pickup or making a collection available at the town transfer station. Londonderry perhaps has the most extensive spring cleanup, with its Beautify Londonderry campaign that lasts several weeks and involves volunteers cleaning up and planting public spaces.
The town also has a Anti-Littering Advisory Committee focused on combating litter, and is ramping up its activity as the warmer weather approaches, with a focus on “Roadside Pride.” That’s a concept that isn’t specific to Londonderry wherever we live, we should expect our streets and lawns to be clean, not repositories for someone’s casually tossed out refuse. We don’t know why people litter, but we do know that it pollutes other people’s property and is against the law.
Whether you decide to join a formal, town organized clean-up, or you take it upon yourself to keep a portion of the road where you live or the land where you walk free of litter, we urge everyone who’s physically able to make a commitment to help their town look its best as winter wanes and spring approaches, and for the foreseeable future.
Help keep our towns beautiful and clean. We’re all in this together. No littering, please!