LITTER IS TARGET OF NEW CLEANUP CAMPAIGN

It's sad when some people view our city streets as one big trash can.

Drivers toss cigarette butts, food wrappers and junk mail out car windows.

Some litterbugs go even further, dumping entire bags of trash in vacant lots instead of investing in trash barrels.

But one Cape Girardeau businesswoman is turning the tide.

Marsha Toll, who owns Bellevue Bed and Breakfast, contacted Keep America Beautiful Inc., a national, not-for-profit organization aimed at educating children and adults about the damage of litter.

She called KAB participants across the country to see how they got started.

And on Monday, Peggy Malone with KAB in Carbondale, Ill., talked to Toll and others about beginning their own program.

Seven committed souls showed up for the speech, but many more called and sent letters to Toll, volunteering to help once the program gets up and rolling.

Malone discussed the way a few Carbondale residents set up KAB in their town, funding it through grants and donations from local businesses. They conduct a citywide clean up that attracts 300 to 500 volunteers each year.

Not that Cape Girardeau doesn't have its own ongoing cleanup efforts. The city has an adopt-a-street program, providing bags and pick-up service for organizations.

But only two groups have adopted streets.

As Toll said:

"There are a lot of efforts here, but the trash gets picked up for awhile, and then it gets littered again."

She believes in the KAB philosophy of education. The group provides a curriculum for elementary and high-school students. In the same way firefighters ask children to encourage their parents to plan home exit routes, KAB wants them to educate their parents about the problem of litter.

And isn't the problem obvious?

When a food wrapper goes out a car window, some city employee has to take the time to pick it up. In Cape Girardeau, that same city employee could be repairing a pothole.

And maybe an entrepreneur thinking of putting a business in Cape Girardeau sees the trash on the street and decides to go somewhere the community takes a little more pride in itself.

Promises of funding to launch KAB and keep it going are there. Now its up to volunteers to make it happen.

It isn't too late to get involved. Toll and her group have set a planning meeting for 5 p.m. June 5 at her business, 312 Bellevue St.

For more information, call Toll at 335-3302.