Letter to the Editor
April 29, 2020
As you drive along any roadway in Barry County, you will see evidence of their presence. Plastic bags, drink cups, food containers, beer cans are thoughtlessly thrown out of car windows and left alongside the road. (Keystone beer? Seriously? You and I need to have a discussion about how to enjoy good beer…).
This has been a problem for as long as I’ve lived here and is a symptom of the lack of respect these people have for the rest of us. It really needs to stop.
They may be your neighbors, friends, family members…even you.
According to a recent article in the Barry County Advertiser, roadside trash removal cost Missouri taxpayers $6.4 million last year. This burden is shared by all of us even though the people who create this cost are a small minority. Let’s see if we can make a difference.
It takes literally no effort to help reduce this cost. Just keep your trash in your car. Dispose of it when you get home. Better yet, don’t put it in your car. Since manufacturers and retailers cause the problem of disposable packaging, make them deal with it. When you take your purchases to your car leave the packaging behind. Keep a plastic bin or reusable bags in your car, remove your groceries or other items from the packaging and place them in the bin or bags. Put all of the packaging in the store’s trash can or recycle bin. Don’t put it in your car and you won’t be tempted to throw it out on the way home.
After you drink your soda, just hang onto the cup. Paper drink cups make great pots for planting seeds. They work very well to keep cutworms and slugs away from your veggies. They also compost easily. Need to change your oil but don’t have a funnel? Cut the bottom of the cup off, slice it along its edge, roll it into a funnel and problem solved! I use mine to keep loose bolts, screws and nuts where I can find them. They work great for small amounts of twine, wire and tubing. Have a houseplant that you forget to water? Poke a small hole in the bottom of a cup, place it in the pot and let it slowly keep your plant alive.
Even those horrible plastic grocery bags can have a second life other than hanging off fence lines. Save them to package loose items in your garage or shop.
Use your position to help influence people. If you run a church, speak to your congregation. I don’t remember reading about Jesus trashing up the place. If you are a merchant, have adequate trash and recycle bins where people load their cars. Offer to take back packaging and really push that. Move back to paper bags. Don’t use plastic drink cups. Make trash reduction a marketing message. I know I’ll shop there more often. Politician? Oh sorry, you are beyond hope...
This is not a trivial issue. $6.4 million is not a trivial amount. Barry County and the rest of the Ozarks is a beautiful place! Do what you can to make it even more beautiful. We will all thank you!
Brian Wright
Cassville
This has been a problem for as long as I’ve lived here and is a symptom of the lack of respect these people have for the rest of us. It really needs to stop.
They may be your neighbors, friends, family members…even you.
According to a recent article in the Barry County Advertiser, roadside trash removal cost Missouri taxpayers $6.4 million last year. This burden is shared by all of us even though the people who create this cost are a small minority. Let’s see if we can make a difference.
It takes literally no effort to help reduce this cost. Just keep your trash in your car. Dispose of it when you get home. Better yet, don’t put it in your car. Since manufacturers and retailers cause the problem of disposable packaging, make them deal with it. When you take your purchases to your car leave the packaging behind. Keep a plastic bin or reusable bags in your car, remove your groceries or other items from the packaging and place them in the bin or bags. Put all of the packaging in the store’s trash can or recycle bin. Don’t put it in your car and you won’t be tempted to throw it out on the way home.
After you drink your soda, just hang onto the cup. Paper drink cups make great pots for planting seeds. They work very well to keep cutworms and slugs away from your veggies. They also compost easily. Need to change your oil but don’t have a funnel? Cut the bottom of the cup off, slice it along its edge, roll it into a funnel and problem solved! I use mine to keep loose bolts, screws and nuts where I can find them. They work great for small amounts of twine, wire and tubing. Have a houseplant that you forget to water? Poke a small hole in the bottom of a cup, place it in the pot and let it slowly keep your plant alive.
Even those horrible plastic grocery bags can have a second life other than hanging off fence lines. Save them to package loose items in your garage or shop.
Use your position to help influence people. If you run a church, speak to your congregation. I don’t remember reading about Jesus trashing up the place. If you are a merchant, have adequate trash and recycle bins where people load their cars. Offer to take back packaging and really push that. Move back to paper bags. Don’t use plastic drink cups. Make trash reduction a marketing message. I know I’ll shop there more often. Politician? Oh sorry, you are beyond hope...
This is not a trivial issue. $6.4 million is not a trivial amount. Barry County and the rest of the Ozarks is a beautiful place! Do what you can to make it even more beautiful. We will all thank you!
Brian Wright
Cassville