Editorial

Put ‘Broken Windows’ theory to the test on litter

Trash is a serious issue in North Carolina, and that’s why we are backing a new proposal for a bottle deposit that could help make inroads toward fixing this problem.

One presidential hopeful for 2008, Rudolph Giuliani, made his name in part via an effort to clean up what was considered a blighted New York City during his tenure as mayor. Giuliani helped bring to national prominence the “Broken Windows’’ theory of urban improvement. Simply put, if a broken window in a building goes unrepaired, the tendency is for vandals to break more windows, then break into the building itself in a downward spiral of crime and urban decay that spreads to more buildings and entire neighborhoods.

The theory has its detractors, but the common sense of it is hard to argue with. Visual clues send messages that people respond to. If the message is that nobody cares about a house or a stretch of road, it’s fair game for whatever mischief comes to mind.

The book “Broken Windows’’ contains the following passage: “…consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars.’’

So much trash

For a state so loved by so many, the paradox of so much litter in North Carolina is something that has baffled people for years. Litter pickups are launched, prisoners are marched down the roadsides with orange bags, fines are increased and fingers are wagged. And the next day, the trash has miraculously reappeared.

It’s time for another tactic. Sen. Doug Berger, D-Franklin County, has at least a part of the solution. Berger has introduced the Litter Reduction Act of 2007, a measure that would require a 10 percent deposit on each beverage container sold in this state.

Some 40 to 60 percent of roadside litter is glass, aluminum and plastic beverage containers, long-lasting reminders of the 200 billion containers sold each year. Of that number, 130 billion are incinerated or wind up as litter or landfill material. The energy used to replace those containers equals 50 million barrels of crude oil.

As it currently stands, the state spends millions to attempt to clean all this up, and even with the help of volunteers in efforts like the annual Litter Sweep (April 14-April 28 this year), the trash keeps piling up.

Legislation makes sense

Sen. Berger’s proposal strikes us as a smart move. States that have enacted deposit legislation have seen total litter reduction from 30 to 65 percent, with up to 95 percent of containers redeemed for deposit.

Under the proposed bill, grocers and retail outlets would not be made responsible for taking back empty containers. The bill calls for conveniently located state certified redemption centers where refunds will be obtained. The redemption centers need to be up and running when the legislation takes effect in order to avoid bottles piling up in people’s garages.

SB 215 is worth considering because it promises to be effective. Right now, Keep America Beautiful says that people tend to litter because:

“They feel no sense of ownership, even though areas such as parks and beaches are public property.

“They believe someone else — a park maintenance or highway worker — will pick up after them.

“Litter already has accumulated.’’

Simply put, people who have a tendency to litter have that tendency encouraged when there’s already trash all over the place. SB 215 would help staunch the flow of that litter, and thus could help dampen the aforementioned tendency.

In other words, we might be able to put the “Broken Windows’’ theory to the test.

There’s no excuse for us to not clean up our state. North Carolina is a treasure, not a trash dump.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770411153