Our view: Awareness is the first step in combating litter – The Commercial Dispatch

Litter, like the weather, is something easy to complain about but harder to change, at least on a community-wide level.

A small group of Columbus citizens is hoping to rally the city and county to join efforts in tackling the litter problem but needs all the help they can get if the campaign is going to reach critical mass.

During his weekly Wednesday press conference, Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin lent his support to the group, which is staging its first Pick It Up Possum Town litter clean-up event on April 2 in each of the citys six wards.

The goal of the grass-roots group is not merely to set aside a day to remove litter, but to create a sustainable anti-litter program that will focus on prevention.

In lending his support to the effort, the mayor introduced Mayor Possum, a bespectacled plush toy possum, a nod to the name given to the area by native Americans in the early 1800s, and his own childhood, when the Litter Bug raised awareness among children about litter.

When a person is taught to wear a seatbelt as a child, it becomes second nature to wear them as they grow up. The same principle applies to litter. The mayor said he plans to take Mayor Possum and his Dont Be a Litter Critter into schools and churches.

Littering is almost always a thoughtless act. Few people are deliberately motivated to mar the landscape with cans, bottles, wrappers, etc. So awareness is a first step in any campaign. Awareness leads to being intentional about properly disposing of litter. Those conscious acts become a habit that can create a culture.

Any successful anti-litter campaign follows that pattern.

In 1970, the Keep America Beautiful campaign introduced a memorable TV public service ad featuring a crying Indian as he surveyed a landscape polluted by litter. More recently, Texas employed its Dont Mess With Texas ad campaign, which saved the state millions of dollars in state highway clean-up funds as people were reminded to properly dispose of their trash.

For grown-ups who perhaps have never considered the full range of negative consequences of litter, its important for them to know that litter isnt simply an eyesore but has far-reaching implications. Trash can become a breeding ground for rodents, cockroaches and bacteria they often carry. Its a threat to public health, but it can also affect a community in other damaging ways: collecting in and clogging drains and sewers and costing the city taxpayer dollars for clean-up. The local economy can suffer, too. Tourists do not look favorably on communities where litter abounds.

Melissa Parsons, who is leading the group, hopes to collaborate with other groups in ongoing efforts in the area, including the Ive Got Your Block program in the Columbus Municipal School District, as well as programs at Vibrant Church and the YMCA, among others.

We encourage businesses, civic groups, churches and individual residents to join this continuing effort. We note the model used by The Salvation Armys Red Kettle program where groups volunteer to serve on a particular day or weekend.

In preparation for the April 2 clean-up day, Parsons group met with city council members to identify areas in their wards where litter is particularly bad. One practical suggestion is for the city to make sure there are trash cans in those areas. People will use a trash can for their disposables if there is one nearby. They are more likely to litter when no trash can is in close proximity.

Enforcement is often cited as a means of combating litter, but the most successful enforcement is again awareness. Years ago, the city had a litter control officer who, acting on tips from the public, sent letters to letters to offenders reminding them of the negative effects of litter. Aside from the most egregious examples of littering, the best enforcement may be raising awareness.

The litter problem wont be solved overnight. It will take a sustained, community-wide effort to keep our city and county clean.

The good news is that if each of us do our part, we can and will succeed.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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Our view: Awareness is the first step in combating litter - The Commercial Dispatch