Talking Trash

                When the grass dies back during the winter months, the problem of roadside litter becomes much more noticeable. Often the problem in our area is so bad that no amount of greenery can conceal it. It may not come as a surprise to anyone that Georgia was ranked as the 7^th worst in the 2011 State Litter Scorecard. (Atlanta was the ninth dirtiest city in the US.) Our neighbors to the north fared much better. North Carolina was ranked in the top ten cleanest states.

                Litter says a lot about who we are as a people, but it speaks in many voices. I have seen no reliable studies on litter as an economic indicator. We can only speculate as to what the empty can says about the individual who chooses to litter. Litter is a bigger problem in some of the poorest areas of the nation, but this is not universally true. It is a bigger problem in some of the more densely populated areas, but this is also not universally true. Towns County is among the wealthiest counties in Georgia, ranked 27^th out of 159 in per capita income, and we have one of the lowest population densities.   Let’s assume for the sake of argument that litter is equally distributed across the nation, that no one particular demographic group litters more than another and that the percentage of litterbugs in each county of each state is the same. This is not entirely accurate either, but generally the lack of litter in an area usually has more to do with its removal than its creation.

                The 2011 study did indicate a positive correlation between the lack of litter and several factors. States with litter taxation, states with container deposit legislation, states with comprehensive recycling legislation, with high per person environmental expenditure and states with high integrity of thoroughfare maintenance disbursement costs were among the cleanest. Interestingly, states with a high percentage of public corruption convictions were among the dirtiest.

                Litter itself is certainly a form of “corruption.” The individual who chooses to throw a McDonald’s bag or Mountain Dew bottle out of the window is knowingly breaking the law. Beyond that, the individual is choosing to disrespect both the environment he lives in and the community he lives with. It would be interesting to know how many of the previous owners of the Budweiser cans, Hardee’s cups and water bottles that decorate the sides of our highways have ever spoken out against companies who do basically the same thing but on a larger scale.

                Towns County does what it can to address the litter problem within the limited budget of a shrinking economy. The Trustees do a good job when their labor is applied to the problem, but this is a small group with other responsibilities.  Some communities have taken the problem into their own hands, literally. Overall, however, we cannot expect government to solve this problem without additional funding during a time when all forms of government are cutting costs.

                Without government to save us from ourselves with regards to littering, we are left to our own devices, and it is to those devices that I make my own plea. While I am certain that no one who reads the Towns County Herald would ever be so thoughtless as to litter, there is a good chance that we know of someone who would. Perhaps to some, littering is a gesture. John Belushi once said, “A useless and stupid gesture is better than no gesture at all.” There is a growing sense of powerlessness in our culture and a growing contempt for government and “the establishment.” Who knows what frustrations might be compressed in that pivotal moment just before the Coke can goes out the window in a useless and stupid gesture in defiance of all that burdens us in these trying times.

                I would speak to that gesture of defiance and point out that the energy is wasted in an action that harms our community and ultimately ourselves. The economy of this area still depends on tourism and our ability to attract and maintain residents who might wish to retire here or move a business here. A rarely broken chain of trash from county line to county line will not serve as an enticement. It will further degrade the all-important image of beauty and tranquility upon which our economy depends. It will become even harder to afford the items with which to create litter and the gasoline to transport them.