Litter. Why?

[Sixpoint]

Hello all - pardon me while I blow off some steam.

I'm a law enforcement Park Ranger. The park I work at is situated on a large lake (Toledo Bend Reservoir).

For lack of a better way to describe it, the "feel" of our park is based on the lake and lakeshore-type activities.

We do, however, have several hiking trails.

I patrol these trails daily, for a number of reasons. Most importantly I suppose is the safety of the visitors in my park. I keep an eye on the trees/branches, etc. to make sure that the trails are as safe as they can be while still being "wild".

Easing more towards my point, I also pick up the litter on these trails.

Getting right down to my point, there is a "hidden" beach located off one of these trails. It's not (of course) hidden from a lake point of view, but a lot of people who come to the park never go out on the lake, so to them, this beach is "hidden", because it's relatively hard to find from a park point-of-view. This beach is also beautiful. It's a small beach, probably not more than 50 yards of sand on the water-front, and about ten yards from the water's edge to the woodline. I've taken a sort of mental ownership of this beach; I like to keep it pristine because it is one of the few places left on this overly developed lake that one can approach from water or land and in either case it feels like you could be the first one to ever set foot on this beach.

Except for the litter.

Each day I hike down to this beach, taking care to take a slightly different route to keep from wearing too much of a trail. On that hike, I take with me a five-gallon bucket. And each day I fill it about half way up with litter. Beer cans, cigarette butts, food containers, plastic bags, etc. Did I mention this is a small beach?

A few days ago, I found a broken beer bottle right beside a child's bare-foot footprint. That particular litterer...let's just say that it would have been worth him doing it if I'd been able to catch him in the act of doing it.

Today's load of litter was pretty light, in terms of volume. It was the actual content that drove me nuts. It consisted of one dirty diaper, but it was a big diaper, probably 24 months. There were only two other items; two juice boxes, the kind with the little straw that so many people give to their children.

There were no fresh tracks on the land side of the beach; these people came in on a boat. I was able to pick out four distinct sets of tracks. What looked to be the tracks of a man, a woman, a toddler (hence the diaper) and another child, wild guessing here the other child was 5 to 7 yeards old, based on the track size.

So yeah, for a family outing, let's load up in the boat, find a beautiful piece of secluded beach, and trash it up. Way to go, people, start them out littering at a young age. Mess it up for everyone else. Just go ahead and be that self absorbed, arrogant, thoughtless piece of... yeah, I guess I'll stop that rant right there and just ask this one question.

Why do people feel the need to trash up what would otherwise be a little slice of heaven - and not only do it, but send the message to their kids that it's okay to do it? Why?

/rant off.

SP

[bljones]

Is there a garbage can on this beach? not that a lack of disposal sites excuses littering, but since most peope are focused on convenience over correctness, a trashcan or two may cut down on littering.

Soapbox sidebar on diapers- why is it people will gladly scoop after their dog, and then carry a bag of warm dog crap for blocks before finding a garbage can to toss it in to, yet they won't treat their own kid's crap the same way? I walked inot a porta-potty at my marina today, and someobyd had left a loaded Pampers bomb lying beside the toilet seat. Gee, thanks. Don't like dealing with diapers? Toilet train your spawn! Don't like dealing with wiping your whelps in publinc places? STAY HOME. Don't make your problem my problem.

[kd3pc]

Six

trash cans would make no difference..people are self centered and slobs....all think that "someone" should do something..and they count on that...THEY just go on destroying everything they come in contact with...and then move along to someplace else to trash. There are no real consequences. When was the last time you read that a cop pulled someone over for throwing out a ciggarette or litter...??

If you want to see trash, live along a "major" two lane highway in No VA...I would be tickled to only have to carry a 5 gallon bucket...

People expect that "someone" to pick up after them, just like their mom did...It will not change, until the penalty for getting caught is really a consequence.

[Tempest]

I feel your pain! I hate litterers, I think they should all be shot! ;-)
And buried in a landfill with their litter.

At the very least, if caught, be made to pick up litter on the side of the highway for a month with their bare hands.

Ask me how I really feel...lol

[merc2dogs]

I have never been able to understand people and the way they handle diapers.
Personally think they should make them out of a more environmentally friendly material, because so many of them do end up outside.

But I also feel that plastic packaging should be outlawed too.

Ken.

[T37Chef]

Tempest, I like the idea but shouldn't it be for the beaches...hey, how about "Adopt a beach" program?

Next time we go beach combing on the Chesapeake I am going to bring a trash bag, or ten and start cleaning things up. Last weekend at Still Pond I was amazed to see so much crap on the beach, sad indeed. I've done it before but not in a loong while , it would be good for our kids to learn from too.

[Dirtboy]

Sitting at a light on the causway to Clearwater Beach, 4 teens in a car in front of me throw their trash (coke cans and burger wrapers) onto the road. I got off my motorcycle, walked around their car and picked up all their trash. Stuffed it into my tank bag and wondered it they learned anything or just thought it was funny ....................

Our off-road club joins the local hunters for a forrest clean up day. We get our pick-ups and trailers and spend one day cleaning trash from our little piece of paradise. Typical haul is around 3 tons; washing machines, sofas, old tires by the dozens, etc. We even hauled a 18' boat hull out one year! All on 65,000 acres of beautiful southern hardwood forrest. Florida "paradise" isn't limited to the coast; we've also got beautiful woodlands.

DB

[remetau]

Originally Posted by Dirtboy

Sitting at a light on the causway to Clearwater Beach, 4 teens in a car in front of me throw their trash (coke cans and burger wrapers) onto the road. I got off my motorcycle, walked around their car and picked up all their trash. Stuffed it into my tank bag and wondered it they learned anything or just thought it was funny ....................

Our off-road club joins the local hunters for a forrest clean up day. We get our pick-ups and trailers and spend one day cleaning trash from our little piece of paradise. Typical haul is around 3 tons; washing machines, sofas, old tires by the dozens, etc. We even hauled a 18' boat hull out one year! All on 65,000 acres of beautiful southern hardwood forrest. Florida "paradise" isn't limited to the coast; we've also got beautiful woodlands.

DB

We used to live behind Barefoot Bay right there at the causeway. During a good rain, all the street trash would wash into the storm drains and right out into the bay. If the wind was right, a lot of it would end up in the corner behind the hotel. Every once in a while, my wife and I would take our fishing net and scoop up all the plastic bottles and Styrofoam.

Not only is the litter an eyesore, but it also usually ends up in the ocean where it is eaten by turtles, birds and fish that have mistaken it for food. The turtle hospital down here in Marathon recues turtles every year that are starving to death because their bellies are full of plastic trash.

[ssneade]

i've seen many cool little places to hang out, camp, fish, swim etc. made off limits by the ga dnr because of stupid, disrespectful, irreverant, inbred, illiterate, drug addicted, self serving idiots that think of nobody but themselves. i've had personal confrontations with groups of trash such as these (they never travel alone) sometimes with almost violent results. i love calling them out for what they are. most times just teenagers with a destructive personality. but sometimes i have to deal with adults. notice i didn't say mature adults. my kids look at me as if i'm mad sometimes, but they'll always jump in and help clean up.......

be a friend to nature, kick the ass of the next person you find littering. you'll make the world a better place........

[Sixpoint]

Originally Posted by ssneade

i've seen many cool little places to hang out, camp, fish, swim etc. made off limits by the ga dnr because of stupid, disrespectful, irreverant, inbred, illiterate, drug addicted, self serving idiots that think of nobody but themselves. i've had personal confrontations with groups of trash such as these (they never travel alone) sometimes with almost violent results. i love calling them out for what they are. most times just teenagers with a destructive personality. but sometimes i have to deal with adults. notice i didn't say mature adults. my kids look at me as if i'm mad sometimes, but they'll always jump in and help clean up.......

be a friend to nature, kick the ass of the next person you find littering. you'll make the world a better place........

Wish there were more people who would make a stand like that. Kudos.