Our “to-do” list last week was an all out effort to finish the final cleanup of the apple orchards. Our U-PIK orchard is located along a State Highway (SR# 229, north of Oldenburg, Indiana). So besides cleaning up tree prunings and debris in the orchard, we are also faced quite a bit of roadside litter and trash. Most of us agree that roadside litter is a real problem in our communities. Besides “de-beautifying” the countryside, litter and trash is damaging to the environment, poses health and safety concerns, and can reduce property values.
Picking up litter and other people’s trash is NOT our favorite thing to do, but a challenge that needs to be met by us as property owners if we want to keep our community beautiful and “green.” Much of the litter we pick up along our fence line and road ditch is comprised of plastic films, grocery bags, food wrappers and snack bags. Probably fast-food drink cups and plastic beverage bottles make up the major items picked up. Since the pandemic, however, we have also had to deal with discarded face masks and latex gloves. Uggh!
It is a time consuming chore to pick up road side trash and litter. It’s not “once and done” but an ongoing challenge during the entire year. One styrofoam drinking cup chopped up by a mower becomes tens of pieces of litter less than four inches in size. Smaller litter may be less visible, but it’s more difficult to pick up and possibly more damaging to our water supplies as it washes down waterways easily and almost undetectable.
People can choose not to litter. It’s so simple. Think and don’t automatically toss litter out of your vehicle’s window. Just take your litter and trash with you. Dispose of it in a trash container. Learn to recycle and reuse. The EPA has reported that the rate of recycling and reuse is about 32% and account for approximately a half million new jobs and $37.8 billion in wages. Properly managing litter and trash cleanup, recycling when possible, is a win-win for our environment and economy.