Despite the hype, we're not putting litter in its place

When government finally puts its money where its mouth is you know you have a problem that’s already out of control.

Last month, Environment Minister and Kings North MLA Mark Parent encouraged Nova Scotians to keep their communities clean and green by properly disposing of their waste to reduce litter.

He announced at the time an additional $50,000 for the Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Crops to help pick up litter around the province. Although Parent said the money was being invested because a minority of Nova Scotians continues to litter, I’ll suggest that the word ‘minority’ is a misnomer.

In fact, litter’s a huge problem almost anywhere you go: cluttering shorelines and beaches; peppering our woodlands; and lining roadsides with waste that should be anywhere else but.

I had a letter from a reader last week who said he just doesn’t get it. He described the huge national and international push to ‘go green’ and said we’re warned about environmental change, global warming and pollution caused by fossil fuels, and politicians are even talking about a tax to reduce our ‘carbon footprint’.

However, “you don’t have to walk or cycle very far before encountering garbage and litter in all its forms…. The question is, why do people throw their garbage out their car window and litter our beautiful countryside?” when we’re prodded on almost a daily basis to reduce, reuse and recycle.

In his estimation, we’re not getting the message despite oodles of government money to the good. Even worse, most people seem to be oblivious to the mess!

He said citizens in Kings County are in a state of collective denial and most folks believe that litter is someone else’s problem. It sits roadside for indefinite periods of time, ruins the natural esthetic and no one appears willing to step up on an individual, daily basis.

Certainly groups like Clean Nova Scotia and other local organizations that do beach sweeps and roadside clean-ups play a vital and important role in keeping our region free of litter. But they mobilize only once or twice a year because it’s not easy to get people up off their duffs and out there to collect trash, and most times it’s always the same few who care enough to get organized and do the job.

Transcontinental Media and a number of New Minas and area businesses sponsored a clean-up on Earth Day and amassed 180 bags of garbage in two hours, and that was merely a canvass proximate to our location at 9185 Commercial Street. Doesn’t that tell you something? Shouldn’t that send a clear message that things aren’t all right?

It does to me, and the letter I received last week only underscores the fact that not enough is being done to curb this problem. Globally, efforts are being made. On a personal level, we’re not walking the talk at all.

How hard is it to keep a bag in the car for fast food containers or coffee cups, or to save what refuse you accumulate for disposal the next time you’re in a drive-through or handy to a garbage bin?

We’re talking about two things: an awareness of the problem, first of all, and a conscious effort to keep Nova Scotia free from litter. It sounds pretty simple, and it sure can make a difference.

All we have to do is try and there’s no time like the present to start.