Letter to the Editor

Why so much litter in our beautiful state?

Recent letters regarding trash, slobs, and Americans have encouraged me to write regarding the roadways of Virginia ["Are Americans really slobs? You bet!" Feb. 23].

The melting of the snow certainly emphasizes that Virginia motorists relish throwing trash out of their cars.

An online article stated that Virginians spent $25 million in 2007 on cleaning up roadway trash. With all the threatened tax increases, budget cuts, foreclosures, etc., it appears obvious that some serious money could be saved.

Although it is illegal to litter in Virginia, that doesn't seem to hinder the litterbugs.

Virginia is a historic and beautiful state, and it really saddens me to view the roadside litter. Don't people care?

In January, two other ladies and I undertook the cleanup of a two-mile stretch of road in Westmoreland County. It took about 20 hours over five days, and we accumulated five carloads of trash. We recycled what we could and put the remainder into the Dumpster at the county facility.

Before we had finished our last walk, someone threw a cigarette package in an area we had just cleaned.

I'm a Northern Michigander who has spent the last few winters in Virginia, and I've asked locals why there is so much litter.

One woman answered, "Oh, the jail inmates pick that up." When I asked why there is no bottle bill, I was told, "They tried that, but it didn't work." Why didn't it work? It works quite well in Michigan, and 10 other states have implemented the "container deposit law," with more pending.

So please set a good example for your children and do not litter; make this another part of "going green." Litter breeds vermin and disease and harms wildlife, and it is unsightly.

I can sadly report that while visiting the Eiffel Tower in France a few years ago, the grounds were littered with discarded water bottles. Apparently, Americans aren't the only slobs.

Kathleen Farley

Westmoreland

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/032010/03072010/530588