It's time to get serious about litter
By Staff
Franklin County has been under siege from litterbugs long enough. The handiwork of those who defile our roadsides and public spaces is heartbreakingly evident.
It's no secret that our neighboring counties suffer from the same problem, but there's no reason why Franklin County citizens can't take the lead in cleaning up the area.
While city and county officials do their best to combat litter, it is up to us as individuals to make a difference.
Too many of our residents seem to feel that it is their right to litter. Where this unfortunate idea comes from is beside the point. Littering is against the law, as the law enforcement officers of our county will make clear to you if they catch you in the act.
Others are unthinking culprits. Those who feel it is acceptable to use the beds of their pickup trucks as trash cans are overlooking a simple law of physics. Greasy fast-food wrappers, plastic cups and empty aluminum cans will not stay put in the bed of a truck going 65 miles per hour. These items will end up on the roadside, adding to the problem created by those who intentionally despoil our environment.
The benefits of a cleaner county should be clear to all of us. Putting a stop to littering will send a message to tourists and potential investors that Franklin County citizens have a strong sense of civic pride. It will show our children and young adults that littering is unacceptable. It will give us all a new, more hopeful landscape in which to live and work.
If a wave of graffiti hooligans descended on Franklin County and began spray-painting the sides of buildings and overpasses, there would be an uproar, and the perpetrators would be quickly rounded up.
Litter is just as ugly and demoralizing as graffiti. It's time we stopped treating litter as a minor nuisance.
The natural beauty of our county has been marred for too long by unthinking or unfeeling litterbugs. In an age where receptacles for trash and garbage are easily located and utilized, there is no excuse for littering.
Thankfully, litter is a problem we can all do something about. It doesn't take any special skills to be a part of the solution. We can all take a few moments each day to put litter in its place.
We can no longer afford to look the other way when confronted with litter.
Littering is not a victimless crime.
The welfare of our neighborhoods and communities is at stake.
