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I have always been a collector. But little did I know when I moved here recently that I would soon become a collector of bottles, cans, food wrappers, plastic bags and cigarette butts. Especially cigarette butts.

What is puzzling about it is that there are so many receptacles provided along so many streets where you can drop your garbage. There are even dog waste bags provided at many of them.

Some food for thought about all this littering. Bottles, cans, food wrappers and plastic bags just rust or slowly grind into the landscape. Aside from the fact that it makes a mess, dog waste contains pathogens and is not automatically washed away when it rains. That is a fallacy that is easily disproved by walking by a pile of it over the course of a couple of weeks. If you step in it unawares you can also track it into your home and on your rugs and carpets. Cigarette butts? They have a half-life of forever. Filters never die. Never.

Why would anyone foul their own nest? Please be more aware of where you drop your litter and more sensitive to this beautiful environment in which we work and play.

 

Beth A. Kinstler

Tryon