On Saturday, May 7, I participated in the Adopt-A-Block spring cleanup. This is an event where a bunch of caring, thoughtful citizens clean up the mess left behind by a bunch of careless, thoughtless citizens.
My small group collected several garbage bags full of trash on a short stretch of Stave Lake Street between city hall and Parr Avenue.
Why?
Not why did we do it? That is obvious: to make our community a cleaner, more pleasant place. But why was it necessary? Why do so many among us think it is acceptable to dispose of the garbage they generate by dropping it where they stand or tossing it out of the car window?
Why do people think it is OK to leave an area uglier and messier than they found it?
Cleaning up after ourselves is a simple concept.
If a waste receptacle is not available where we are, we have to take the waste with us – in our pocket, purse, backpack or car – and dispose of it in our RotPot, blue bag, or, as a last resort, in the garbage can.
We should all try to create as little waste as possible and dispose of unavoidable waste responsibly in a way that will not harm our environment, physically or esthetically.
Let’s put Adopt-A-Block out of business, freeing its generous volunteers to do other worthwhile work in the community rather than simply undoing the thoughtlessness of others.
Litter is a completely unnecessary and avoidable evil.
Preventing it is so much easier than cleaning it up. It costs nothing. All we have to do is care.
Gillian Hartz
Mission