Regarding the article “Study: Pa. roads average 1,030 litter items per mile”: I have done my best to keep a stretch of rural road near my home free of litter. I pick up beer and pop cans, cigarette butts, plastic bottles, and bags from convenience stores and fast-food restaurants.
Trash along the back roads increases when school is in session. Garage sale signs go up but don’t come down. Push-in wire signs are everywhere, but are illegal on public property.
PennDOT spends $13 million a year on litter cleanup, and Pittsburgh spends $3 million. That is taxpayer money that could be put to better use.
What can we do? Here are some ideas:
• Educate children about recycling and litter.
• Make sure your vehicles have receptacles for trash, and use them.
• Be sure your trash is in a can. Night scavengers love to rip into plastic bags.
• If you smoke, use an ashtray.
• Put up “$300 littering fine” signs in key locations, and give out citations. Word gets around fast.
• Take down your garage sale signs after your sale. If it’s there a week later, consider it litter and subject to a fine.
• Keep your property litter-free. You may not have put it there, but it’s yours now.
• Local businesses that help to fuel litter (fast-food restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations) should sponsor litter-collecting teams on designated stretches of road.
• If you walk, carry a bag and pick up trash.
A clean environment benefits everyone. Keep America beautiful; don’t be a litterbug.
Howard Gordon
Lower Burrell