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 7th 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 27th 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.
