Statewide effort targets roadside littering

There used to be a joke about the official signs along some Missouri highways that read: "$100 fine for littering." The punch line went something like this: "I'm sorry, officer, but I can only afford to litter with $5 bills."

Of course, if the only litter along our highways and streets were cash, no one would complain, because such litter wouldn't last long. Unfortunately, foam containers, fast-food wrappers and soft-drink cans have less appeal, even though some industrious folks scour the grass and weeds along roadways for recyclable aluminum.

The fact is that littering has reached unprecedented proportions in Missouri. City streets aren't immune to the current litter problem.

Now three state agencies -- Missouri Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources and Department of Conservation -- have launched a statewide anti-litter campaign. The "No MOre Trash" campaign includes efforts to reach young people, including a contest for special 30-second videos. Stratton Tingle of Cape Girardeau, a film production major at Southern Adventist University in Chattanooga, Tenn., recently was recognized as the winner of the first video contest. Tingle had help from his friends, Justin Hawkins and Ross Tilghman.

The "No MOre Trash" campaign faces a tough battle in its efforts to reduce littering. Currently, the state spends more than $6 million a year to clean up litter along highways. Adopt-A-Highway volunteers provided another $1.5 million worth of litter-collection services last year. Special cleanup teams removed another 421 tons of trash from some of the state's streams.

Despite such activity, trash can be seen everywhere. It's pretty clear that it will take a massive awareness program and a concerted effort to enlist support in the battle against litter.

Such a fight starts with one person who not only decides not to litter, but also to make his or her anti-littering views known to family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Parents who set a good example by not littering and by teaching their children not to litter will have a big impact on the amount of refuse that winds up along highways and streets.

There also is something to be said for the pride that comes when a stretch of highway or a city street is cleared of all litter and kept that way. It's far too easy to toss that empty drink container onto the shoulder of a road that is already strewn with trash. Some motorists, however, might think twice about being the first to mar the cleanliness of a well-maintained stretch of highway.

Missouri's natural beauty and the image of its towns and cities are deeply affected by the amount of trash allowed to gather along roads and streets. The "No MOre Trash" campaign is an effort to restore the satisfaction that comes from living in a state that values motorists who appropriately dispose of the trash they accumulate.