Things Are Picking Up

Let the beauty you love be what you do. Most people are unaware of how litter impacts us. Baby boomers grew up with ads of a crying Native American observing folks trashing the countryside. When I grew up, Lady Bird Johnson had a program called Keep America Beautiful. Today, this organization estimates we spend $11.5 billion a year on litter. The trashing of our roads is a tragedy affecting our economy and our environment

Litter pollutes our water and soil. Litter decreases property values by at least 7 percent. Also, it affects tourism. How do you feel when you come to a place where cans, cups, plastic and all sorts of other things are discarded? It is not a positive experience.


It costs millions of dollars yearly to clean Virginia’s roadways. More than half of roadway litter comes from motorists, and another 25 percent is from pedestrians. Significant roadway litter comes from vehicles with improperly covered loads. Most litter comes from people consciously choosing to litter on Virginia’s roads.


Maybe things can once again pick up if we show a little respect. Let’s honor both this land and our pocketbook. Things will pick up if you give a hand.  Happy returns!


Printed in Washington Post Letters to Editors  3/29/22

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