When I experienced a tragedy years ago while living in Maine, girlfriends wanted to do something special for me. They coordinated a trip to the beach. I tried to resist but they were adamant saying, “You need a day in the sun.” We went to Old Orchard Beach. The only thing I can remember as I laid in the sun was the beach looking like a gigantic cigarette snuffer. Image via sulox32 of Pixabay. Click here to view their gallery.
Litter also becomes dangerous to farmers whose equipment is not meant to plow glass, metal and plastic. The listed reasons for people littering are rather repugnant. Topping the list is laziness. Does that mean that people are too lazy to keep their trash in the vehicle and clean it out when there is a trash receptacle available? Is it that they would rather diminish the physical beauty of our God-given home, Earth, just to have a clean car? Another reason is: “My friend litters, so I can, too.” How about, “Really, its just paper?" Someone suggested that biodegradable containers should be required. But that doesn’t solve the problem. Last spring I put some cardboard in my flower bed to kill some hardy weeds with deep roots I could not pull. It is covered with straw but that cardboard is still there. Having biodegradable containers does not give one license to litter. It is still ugly no matter how short a time it takes to degrade. Other lists say that littering is the result of poor education and poor parenting. I question that but if people have no sense of pride in residing on this amazing planet and taking care of it, maybe they need to know that their tax dollars, to the tune of $11.5 billion a year is spent on cleaning up litter. That money surely could be put to better use! On October 4, 2010, the Posey Green Group sent a letter to the editor of the Democrat. It spoke of the world-wide phenomenon of littering and urged citizens locally to refrain from littering. At that time, the Pacific Trash Vortex was a floating garbage continent the size of Texas. It is now twice the size of Texas. There are trash vortexes in all the major oceans. Image via MikesPhotos of Pixabay. Click here to view their gallery. It is a crime to litter. Mt. Vernon has a minimum fine of $120. However, Indiana law allows fines up to $1000 and more if it is a lit cigarette. Community service of picking up litter in a specified area may also be imposed upon the perpetrator.
Like the camera on a bridge that records license plates of people transversing it, the future may have cameras on roadways capturing you tossing out that cigarette butt or styrofoam cup. Or, maybe there will be drone litter patrols! Just imagine, you could receive in the mail a fine of $1000 or more for your actions. And just maybe, you will have the pleasure of picking up litter. With the amount of litter on the roadways now, our future may dictate that more stringent laws be enforced. Enjoy the bright-yellow daffodils and other springtime surprises, but, please, do not be a litterbug. [email protected] ©Ann Rains, March 2018
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