Making a dent

With the arrival of May, the Scott City, Jackson and Cape Girardeau communities are just two months away from the deadline challenge issued by Cape Girardeau's mayor, Jay Knudtson, to be rid of litter.

It was an ambitious challenge, but cleanup efforts so far this spring have had a remarkable impact. Can this area truly be litter-free by the day we celebrate our nation's freedom? The simple answer is yes -- if the level of effort demonstrated in recent weeks continues.

Freedom from litter

But the Fourth of July litter-free deadline is a short-term goal -- and an important one. If we can walk and drive around our communities on Independence Day with pride, it will certainly be something deserving of fireworks.

The fight against litter in this area -- where we live, work, play, go to school and worship -- is only the beginning. Over the long term, all of us need to be better educated about why we see so much litter and how to prevent littering.

That's the biggest challenge: How do you get people to stop throwing trash down wherever they happen to be? How do you get trash haulers to take extra precautions so litter doesn't blow out of their trucks? How do you get smokers to understand that one cigarette butt isn't a litter problem, but millions of cigarette butts are an ugly eyesore? How do you convince 60,000 or so residents of our area to consider beautification to be more important than littering? And how do you communicate to the thousands of visitors to our area that we mean business about not littering?

Looking for a logo, slogan

One way to keep the message in front of those of us who live here and those who come for a visit is to have a logo and slogan that can be prominently displayed. Area advertising experts have been asked to submit ideas. And you, readers of the Southeast Missourian, have been asked to share your best ideas. These suggestions can be mailed to Litter Campaign, c/o Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0699. They also may be submitted on the Southeast Missourian's Web site: www.semissourian.com. Look for the "War against litter" link on the homepage.

And while our communities continue to find ways to clean up and beautify, let's not forget all the time and effort that already has gone into the anti-litter campaign so far this year. Hundreds of volunteers have picked up litter along highways, helped with park projects and found dozens of way to make this area sparkle. Business owners have paid more attention to their sidewalks and parking lots. Homeowners have become more aware of neighborhood needs.

As has been said many times already, the war on litter is not for the few or the faint of heart. But with everyone pitching in, this is a war that can be won. We can change the root causes of litter. And we can become a model for communities everywhere.

Thank you to everyone who has done something, no matter how small or how big. It makes a difference.