Editorial

Tackling litter

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Just a couple of short years ago, leaders in Cape Girardeau and surrounding communities got fired up about a problem that seemed to be obvious everywhere you looked: litter.

Streets, sidewalks, parks and highways were uglified by fast-food wrappers, foam cups, cigarette butts and other trash, most of it tossed by uncaring motorists.

So these leaders decided it was time to tackle litter by promoting beautification. A decision was made to band the communities together under the umbrella of the nationwide Keep America Beautiful organization, creating Keep Southeast Missouri Beautiful.

Several beautification projects have been completed since then. One of the exit ramps at I-55 and William Street was landscaped. Southeast Missouri State University added fountains at the main campus entrance at Broadway and Henderson Avenue, as well as landscaping and a new fountain at the university's new River Campus. Some businesses have added landscaping, sculptures and fountains.

But the litter is still here. And the driving force of the Keep Southeast Missouri Beautiful seems to have lost some of its zip.

Now some of the folks who have been instrumental in the anti-litter effort have vowed to redouble their efforts. That's great, because our communities have so much to offer residents and visitors alike. The litter crusade is no quick fix, and to be successful it must plan and follow through in the years to come.

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I live in the country and mow along a section of one of our lettered highways. What a mess. Bottles, cups, bags and take your pick. We're pigs. Humans soil their nests. It's a shame that only the threat of punishment can slightly deter our filthy habits. The only cure is to pay to clean up the mess after it's made. Your mother does work here.

-- Posted by blogbudsman on Thu, Jul 24, 2008, at 8:02 AM
The only way to solve the litter problem is to have motorist who witness it take down license numbers of the offenders. After they report it to the police the offenders should receive a knock on their door and a hefty fine.

-- Posted by BABE on Thu, Jul 24, 2008, at 3:53 PM
Going off the really deep end here - and guessing that a great deal of the litter is food and drink containers -

Why not run DNA tests - checking against existing databases and also filing for future reference for comparison against future databases?

If one's DNA matches up with found litter - then one gets to 'donate' to the general clean-up fund as well as the DNA testing fund. :-) Impractical? Hands-down - yes, but an interesting concept to consider.

But also consider that businesses are generally liable for their waste products, even when they're secured in a landfill or up until the point that proper disposal methods such as extreme-temperature incineration have been documented, no matter who handles the disposal (thinking of the really nasty stuff, like asbestos and the waste solvents such as methyl-ethyl-ketone).

The challenge with these types of laws and regulations is that the ultimate goal is really not the enforcement and subsequent revenue of the penalties, but rather the creation of an environment or mindset where these infractions just don't happen.

Unfortunately, to 'turn the tide', the cost and related probability of punishment needs to far-and-away exceed any benefits and likelihoods of 'getting away with it'. The 'how-to' part gets difficult.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Fri, Jul 25, 2008, at 10:40 PM

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