LETTER: Try to Curtail Littering Along Our Country Roads

I'd like to alert readers to a little-known epidemic here in eastern Connecticut - IMMENSE, continual littering. Each day during a 5-mile power-walk along these bucolic roads, I equip myself with a large trash bag which ultimately gets filled to the brim. Yes, EVERY day. Aluminum, paper, plastics, glass - it's a disheartening, seemingly unending undertaking on a daily basis.

The lack of a police presence/cameras in such a rural area contributes to this ongoing problem as these littering, transient cowards continue to shower our beautiful roads with garbage. In addition, the local towns in question don't have the manpower/hours to do any cleaning of this strewn trash. In essence, if I don't do it, it WON'T get done; I've literally picked up close to a TON of trash in 2019 with no solution on the horizon.

I don't expect these repeat offenders to cease their littering ways; it's an ingrained way of life for them - a disgusting, lazy habit. What I CAN do is ask readers out there to simply pitch in by keeping the immediate area around their streets/homes tidy (perhaps a 30 yard radius in each direction) in order to help alleviate the accumulation of trash. How 'bout a scheduled family clean-up (perhaps once per month) where members can each fill a bag while getting exercise at the same time? If we can instill some environmental pride in our children NOW, perhaps people like yours truly would not be overwhelmed by this growing scourge and be able to concentrate on JUST power-walking.

I truly care about the environment and the appearance of my neighborhood; I hope some others out there feel the same sense of pride and will follow suit in trying to curtail the littering along our country roads here in the "Quiet Corner" - and everywhere ELSE in Connecticut.

Bob Lazzari
Columbia

Patch welcomes letters to the editor on any topic, and reserves the right to edit letters for brevity or clarity. Email letters, including the writer's name, address and phone, to tim.jensen@patch.com.