Litter in North Carolina

[cranberries]

I have noticed when I really look that there is a crazy amount of litter on the roads in North Carolina. What can be done about this that other states are currently doing? Is it worse here than other states you've visited? Are people just more lazy here? It's 2006...you would think the idea of just throwing crap out of your car would be a little less prevalent after all these years. Where is the pride in where you live? Is it so hard to get to a trash can?

Here's a story in the N&O:

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/429345.html

Every prisoner that is about to be released should be taken to the roadsides and should clean up the road.

They won't run away because they are about to be released. This may help in several areas: Clean roads and maybe helps them not to litter plus it gets them exercise and a little more ready for the outside workign world.

We never know, it may be that last thing in their life to make them not be part of a revolving door at the police department. OH, and when they get back with the trash they have to sort it by recyclable glass, paper, plastic and true trash.

NC should have a mandatory recycling program - I am moving back there in two weeks, here we recycle a whopping 87% of our trash - that is December 2005 statistic for the year.

Increase that silly fine for littering and inforce it. That means cigarette butts also.

[ILoveCallingNCHome]

We live in the countryside of Guilford County. Our house is a corner house on a cul de sac that connects to a main rural road. One side of our yard constantly has some type of litter in it, from fast food cups/bags to other assorted trash. We pick it up, or it gets mowed over. I really have a hard time understanding why people cannot wait to dispose of their trash at their next stop. We keep bags in our car for the purpose of trash we may accumulate along the way. When we arrive home, we carry our trash to our trash can. If we are out and about, we throw it away in a public trash can. I was raised this way. (as a North Carolinian) It is laziness to just toss it out the window.

Beyond that, I become disgusted when I see a used baby diaper in a parking lot of some shopping center or the mall. What is up with that? What are people thinking when they do not properly take care of their baby's waste? I am assuming these are the same folks that do not clean up after their dogs either. I guess this comes from people living very individualist lives-where their only concern is of themselves, and not that of the greater good of the community and the world we've been so entrusted with to care for.

[cranberries]

We live in the countryside of Guilford County. Our house is a corner house on a cul de sac that connects to a main rural road. One side of our yard constantly has some type of litter in it, from fast food cups/bags to other assorted trash. We pick it up, or it gets mowed over. I really have a hard time understanding why people cannot wait to dispose of their trash at their next stop. We keep bags in our car for the purpose of trash we may accumulate along the way. When we arrive home, we carry our trash to our trash can. If we are out and about, we throw it away in a public trash can. I was raised this way. (as a North Carolinian) It is laziness to just toss it out the window.

Beyond that, I become disgusted when I see a used baby diaper in a parking lot of some shopping center or the mall. What is up with that? What are people thinking when they do not properly take care of their baby's waste? I am assuming these are the same folks that do not clean up after their dogs either. I guess this comes from people living very individualist lives-where their only concern is of themselves, and not that of the greater good of the community and the world we've been so entrusted with to care for.

Exactly.

Another item for the list is the cigarette butts. Why don't people stuff them back in the container they came from, they toss the package away.

I was raised in NC. I had the same bag as a child in the car to put trash in. Mom always said "only trash would throw trash out the window".

I believe that lots of people have become lazier and lazier recently.