It has taken me about nine years, but I have finally completed a walking tour of Kent County’s 272 miles of roads. There is beauty on every road: sloping fields, ancient trees, sometimes a water view, and meticulously maintained farms, homes, and gardens.
I am sorry to report, though, that when I looked down I saw a different sight: litter. On every road without a single exception I saw enough litter to fill several garbage bags. What is even more troubling is that the litter I saw consisted mainly of beer cans and liquor bottles. The people who are drinking and driving and throwing cans and bottles out the window are not outsiders passing through; they are residents of Kent County (only residents could find some of these back roads).
Roadway litter is not a new problem in America. As long ago as 1953, the non-profit organization called Keep America Beautiful was founded in part to prevent littering. Today it is the largest community improvement organization in the United States, with 589 affiliate organizations.
These organizations participate in the Great American Clean-up in March. In 2010, almost 4 million individuals in all fifty states picked up 7.6 million pounds of litter, recycled 15.3 million pounds of metals, 91.5 million pounds of newsprint, 1.1 million tires, and 7.2 million pounds of electronics. I was surprised to learn that volunteers found trash and old tires even on the shoreline of pristine Mount Harmon Plantation, where I work.
In the 1980s I lived in Texas, where litter was costing taxpayers upwards of $25 million every year. An extremely effective ad campaign called “Don’t Mess with Texas” reduced litter in Texas by 72% from 1986-1990. Beverly Goetz of the Maryland State Highway Administration remarked a few years ago that litter removal consumes 9.3% of routine district budgets statewide and costs Marylanders more than $7 million every year.
All of us want tax dollars to be spent wisely. Wouldn’t it be great if no tax dollars had to be spent on litter removal? And wouldn’t it be great if nobody drove with open beer cans or liquor bottles in the car? I suspect that it is a very small fraction of our population who are the culprits. How do we reach them and tell them not to mess with Kent County?
Wendy Costa
Crumpton
Gren Whitman says
Editor,
Thanks to the author.
Hope the fellow (likely a fellow if I know fellows) who often litters roadsides on Eastern Neck NWR with Bud Light cans reads this. Sadly, he probably won’t.
Elizabeth Hill says
Editor,
Thanks for this great letter and congratulations on walking all of Kent County’s roads. I bet there aren’t many who have done that. I do want to remind everyone that we can all play a part in clean roads. Kent County 4-H, along with many families and organizations, have adopted the state and county roads of Kent County. 4-H is beginning our 11th year of picking up trash along the 1 mile stretch of RT 213 north of Urieville Lake (4 times/year). We have found the same type of trash on our section as well. In 10 years we have collected 106 bags of trash, 12 bags of recycling and contributed 380 youth and adult volunteer hours to this project. Since rt 213 is a state road, we work with the State Highway Office on Morgnec Road. I’m sure they would love more volunteers!
Keith Thompson says
Editor,
One possible idea is to start an “Adapt A Highway” program.
Elizabeth Alexander says
Editor,
We moved to the Eastern Shore from Oregon, where a landmark bottle bill had created one of the greenest and cleanest states in the Union. Seeing all the trash dumped along the roads and in the towns here is so disheartening and brings down the character and livability factor, discouraging new residents. Maryland desperately needs a bottle bill that includes soda cans as well. The Oregon bill designated 10 cents per bottle or can charged at time of purchase and returned to customers when the empty is returned (it may have been raised since we left 14 years ago). There are recycling machines all over that look like large soda machines, except they receive the empty bottles and cans and dispense money back once you complete the filling of the machine with your returns. Jobless folks also earn money collecting this form of trash along the roads or parks. Has Maryland ever attempted this type of legislation?
Also worth mentioning… the probation department in California had crews of juvenile and adult probationers on work programs that would pick up trash from roads, parks and beaches. Why can’t Maryland do the same? I worked my way through university as a crew leader on these projects, and the juveniles and young adults would often say that this work had cured them of littering and they would scold people they saw littering.
Law enforcement should issue fines if they see this sort of littering, especially out of car windows. Often times it is underage kids throwing out alcoholic bev bottles and cans, so it would not just be a littering issue.