Here in Liberty County, what we can do to have a clean community, is to understand how to keep our county from becoming a littered one. We must remember that litter is something we do not want in Liberty County. Litter may not be able to be solved overnight, but we can help reduce the effects. When you take a look at the litter and those that carelessly do it, it is actually only about ten percent of our population locally that actually litters and does not care. Some people just need to be made aware of the effects of litter and can be enlightened by education. There are many effects of litter when you think about it. I found these effects of litter on a Waste Management website called, Why Do People Litter?- Causes And Effects Of Littering:
Litter attracts litter:
If the place is filthy and full of trash, it attracts more and more litter.
Spreads diseases:
Litter acts like a breeding ground for many harmful bacteria, rats, and other pests that spread many dangerous diseases.
Clogs up the sewers:
Inappropriate dumping of litter (mainly plastic) clogs storm drains and causes flooding after heavy rains and water pollution. It also ultimately contributes to the contamination of soil and water sources.
It can cause a fire hazard:
Accumulated plastic/ paper waste and carelessly discarded cigarette butts can cause potential fire hazards.
It’s a waste of taxpayer’s money:
Regular Clean-ups require a lot of money, which obviously comes from the taxpayer’s pocket. So, even those who do not litter still have to pay the price for those who do it.
We all can help make our community better by making a commitment to picking up at least one piece of litter a day! In a year, one person can wipe out 360 plus pieces of litter from the Liberty County community. A family of four could eliminate over 1440 hundred pieces of litter a year. Just think, if you could get your street or your neighborhood to participate, thousands of pieces of litter would no longer affect our community. Your neighborhood would be a much healthier and more attractive place to live. If each of us takes less than five minutes a day, we could absolutely lessen the litter in many areas of our community.
We can actually make a difference here in Liberty County on litter issues. Still, it will not be an instant fix. We all have to work together to make our community as clean and healthy as possible. Less litter in our lives is a good victory for all of us.
Would you like to be a part of the litter solution? Join Keep Liberty Beautiful this Saturday, July 25, 2020, for Great American Cleanup in Liberty County. You can sign up on our website www.keeplibertybeautiful.org, or contact us at (912) 880- 4888 or klcb@libertycountyga.com.