Wouldn't it be a great thing to clean up our roads, and not just our beaches?
Neoprene glove (left hand). Plastic bag. Large cardboard box. Numerous cigarette butts (smoking still a thing, apparently). Flattened soda bottle. Blue plastic NYT bag. Budweiser can. Many, many little nip bottles (one for the road, or three or five, who’s counting?) That’s just a quick sampling of the trash by the side of the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road that I saw on a bike ride to my mom’s house on a recent morning. There’s a thing they do up in Vermont one Saturday in May. It’s called Greenup Day, and it involves people walking their roads and picking up, beer cans, soda bottles, or in one never-to-be-forgotten case, a soiled adult diaper by the side of the road. Then the town comes by with trucks and retrieves collected trash and the tires that strapping Vermont high school boys have hauled out of rivers and streams and up steep embankments. Then the roads are pretty for a while, until little by little, the trash mysteriously returns.
The thing is, human beings are frail and they don’t always think things through. Occasionally people do fling things out the car window (not that you would). But we all live here and all of us without exception use the roads. Wouldn’t it be a great thing to clean up our roads, and not just our beaches?
Petra Lent McCarron
Vineyard Haven
Comments
Dear Petra,
Beaglicious New York / OBDear Petra,
Rather than take notes and make this list, why not use that energy to put on gloves of your own and pick up the stuff with a trash bag like they do in VT? Who needs an official day, just do it! I've done this the past few springs by the OB bike path and it is rewarding knowing it helps everyone. Thankless good deeds are fun. Actions speak louder than words.
The key is Proactive Citizens
Pro-active! - TisburyThe key is Proactive Citizens to catch and report those who are caught littering and illegally dumping their junk on the sides of our roads and always have your camera at the ready!
I see so many people afraid to say something when they see somebody doing wrong, be it improper parking, dogs on the posted beaches, people just being rude, inconsiderate etc etc, however I do Not have that flaw!
I am by no means part of the problem, I wish more were like me instead of just whining and complaining!
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