How to stop people from littering
I share a recent letter writer’s concern about the amount of litter that mars Beaufort County’s roadways. Just who are these people who deliberately throw their cups and bottles and bags out their car or truck’s window? But, as much as I appreciate the heroic efforts of Adopt-a-Highway volunteers, I don’t think that is a complete solution.
I drive out Middle Road on Lady’s Island every Saturday and see selfless, dedicated teams picking up litter, filling dozens of orange bags. By the time the day is over, new litter is dotting the side of the road. What Sisyphean despair it creates.
Growing up in the Washington, D.C., area in the ’60s, before yearly car inspections were mandatory, there was a program called “Peg a Polluter,” where drivers could report the license plate of a vehicle that was spewing exhaust. Children, in particular, were educated to be vigilant at spotting and reporting polluters. It was consciousness-raising for the whole community.
I suggest that Beaufort County enact a similar-type program called “Litter Alert,” where drivers could submit offenders to a website to assess which vehicles were reported repeatedly. Signs displaying the website could be posted on county roads. It could all be computer-based and analyzed periodically. That information could then be available on yearly vehicle registration forms and stiff fines could be imposed on repeat offenders.
It’s not a perfect system but just the spectre of being reported might raise enough awareness to inhibit thinking of our beautiful outdoors as a trash can!
Kate McClintic
Beaufort
How to submit a letter
Send letters to the editor by email to letters@islandpacket.com or letters@beaufortgazette.com.
Or you may submit a letter online.
Letters to the editor must be 250 words or fewer and include your first and last names, street address and daytime telephone number so we can verify the letter before publication.
You are limited to one letter per 30 days.
Letters may be edited for length, style, grammar, taste and libel. All letters submitted become the property of The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette.
Letters will be accepted only if they are typed into the body of an email, not sent as an email attachment.
This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How to stop people from littering."